Twilight Gaze
by TigStripe
Summary: When Wakka comes home from college and a new guy shows his face on Destiny Island, things get a little crazy, and romance goes awry. WakkaxTidus, WakkaxZell, ChappuxTidus, ChappuxKairi, RikuxSora. Sequel story to Complete Acceptance. Yaoi.
1. Discovery

This is the first chapter of the sequel story to "Complete Acceptance," a Kingdom Hearts yaoi fic that featured two romances: Sora / Riku and Wakka / Tidus. This fic is going to be timed two years after that story, so everyone is around 17 or so. For your benefit, however, here's a little info:

Sora, Kairi, and Tidus are 17, Riku is 18, and Wakka is 19 (I know that doesn't line up with FFX, but go with me). Selphie is 15 and Chappu is 16. Zell, when he arrives on the island, is 18. Wakka lives with his family still because he's home for the summer from college, so he and Tidus will be spending a lot of time together, since they've been separated for a while.

Hope you enjoy.

Note: I don't own any characters used in this story.

Another Note: This is definitely a yaoi fic, so if it offends you, don't read. It's as simple as that.

* * *

Twilight Gaze

* * *

Chapter 1: Discovery

* * *

Tidus put the car into park and got out, heading up the sidewalk to the house that he'd been living in for the past two years. Ever since facing his father Jecht over the fact that he and Wakka were in love and felt that Tidus was being treated unfairly by forcing him indoors because he had confessed to his father that he was gay, Tidus and Wakka's family had lived together peacefully, and Jecht had finally come to terms that you love who you love. Unfortunately, Jecht had been pestering Tidus to move back in with him, and Tidus just didn't want to. 

Walking up to the front door, Tidus noticed that it was unlocked. That meant that someone was home. Tidus shot another look at the driveway. No one else's car was there – he was the only one home that owned a car. Was Chappu home? Tidus thought for a moment and shook his head. Chappu was in summer school for another two days – he'd failed Geometry. Looking at his watch, Tidus saw that Chappu should still be at school.

Who was inside the house?

Tidus nerved himself up and opened the door, stepping through into the house he had come to call his home. As soon as he laid his eyes on the den, Tidus let out a gasp and a shout of happiness. Wakka was sitting on the couch, watching television, and didn't notice the blonde until he had made a noise. Wakka winced when Tidus shouted, and turned to look at him.

"Yo!" Wakka said with his cool smile, the handsome grin Tidus had come to love. Tidus threw himself at the couch, wrapping his arms around Wakka's neck and smothering him in a shower of kisses.

"Wa! Woah! Waitaminute!" Wakka cried, laughing, trying to pry Tidus away from him. Tidus wouldn't quit, however, and he continued to smother his redheaded lover. "Get offa me or there's no welcome home sex!" Wakka was finally able to exclaim.

Tidus straightened up immediately and jumped off of Wakka, standing in the middle of the den, blushing, with a sheepish grin on his face.

"I got somethin' I gotta tell ya," Wakka told the blonde, giving him a serious look.

Tidus raised an eyebrow and eyed the older man curiously. "And that would be?"

Wakka stood up and made his way over to Tidus. He leaned in very close, to where Tidus could feel Wakka's warm breath on his neck. It made Tidus shudder in anticipation as Wakka whispered into his ear.

"You've got me boned already."

Tidus jerked away and laughed. "Is that what this is all about? Sex? It's always about sex with you, isn't it?" he added with a snicker.

Wakka mock-pouted and grinned. "You bet it is," he said, taking Tidus into a headlock. "Always."

Tidus struggled playfully, but he couldn't resist enjoying being trapped in the man's muscular hold. Wakka had put on some muscle at college, which was fine with Tidus. He liked 'em big.

Just then a car door was heard in the driveway. The two boys inside didn't stop roughhousing, however, and when Wakka's mother entered with Chappu, she laughed.

"Can't you two wait a little while to go around trashing my house?" she asked the two of them before walking over to Wakka and giving him a hug, which in turn released Tidus from Wakka's deathgrip. "It's so nice to have you home, son," she said.

"It's nice to be home, eh?" Wakka replied, gripping his mother tightly. Tidus and Chappu both grinned as the hug ended.

"Great to see ya again," Chappu said, giving his older brother a high five.

"I'll bet everyone'll be happy to see you, right?" Tidus said with a grin.

Wakka nodded with a smile. "I wanna go see 'em. Is everyone around today?" he asked the blonde.

Tidus thought for a moment and grinned. "As a matter of fact, I think they're all at Destiny Island."

"Let's get over there, then!" Wakka said with a laugh. The three kids turned out the door and made their way down to the docks.

* * *

Wakka rowed the boat as Chappu and Tidus sat in front of him. His big arms pumped and Tidus noticed how attracted to them he was. Wakka had seriously gained some weight while he was away. The boatride was shorter than ever before, as Wakka's guns pumped the boat along faster than anyone else on the island could row. 

The boat landed quickly on Destiny Island, docked at the beach, and the three boys jumped out. Wakka led the way to Duelist Island, where the kids were known to hang out at the Paupu tree.

Before Wakka showed himself from the shack, Chappu and Tidus appeared and saw Selphie, Sora, Riku, and Kairi sitting at the edge of the island, overlooking the sea. Riku's arm was comfortably on Sora's shoulder, and Sora's was around Riku's waist.

Chappu cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Kairi!"

The brunette in the violet skirt turned and cried out. "Chappu!" she laughed, jumping up and racing over to the two boys. She glomped him around the neck, almost throwing him off of the bridge, both of them laughing.

"We gotta surprise for ya," Chappu said with a smile. He waved his arm at the seaside shack and Wakka stepped out and through the door, onto the bridge.

"Wakka!" Kairi cried, letting go of her boyfriend and charging the larger redhead. She glomped him similarly, laughing all the while.

Selphie and the others were quickly upon the returning college student and hellos were thrown around, as well as handshakes and hugs.

"You're looking hot," Sora said, eyeing Wakka's bigger chest and arms.

Wakka chuckled as Riku nudged Sora in the ribs, saying, "What about me?"

Tidus wrapped his arms around Wakka's waist and put his head on the redhead's shoulder. "Yeah, he looks hot, and he's all mine."

Chappu wrapped his arm around Kairi's shoulders and held her close to him for a sideways hug. She smiled.

"Woah, when did this happen, eh?" Wakka asked his kid brother.

"We've been dating since a week after you left for college," Chappu said with a smirk. Kairi, grinning, nodded.

Wakka grinned and nudged his little brother. "Good catch, brudda. Kairi's one of the best around."

Selphie kind of huffed, but she laughed as Kairi blushed from the compliment.

"So what have you guys been up to?" Wakka asked Sora and Riku.

"We're not at liberty to say in front of the ladies," Riku said smoothly, a sly grin on his face. Wakka laughed and Sora blushed.

Selphie put up a hand and whispered loudly, "It's not like they don't practically do it out in public anyway." Everyone laughed.

Wakka was glad to be home, that was for sure. He'd missed joking around with his friends like this.

"So what kind of friends have you made while you were away?" Sora asked the redhead. "Any hotties?"

Wakka contemplated, then grinned. "Yeah, a couple, but none of 'em are near as hot as my little blonde," he added, giving Tidus' bum a pinch.

The group reminisced for a few more minutes before departing for the docks. It was beginning to get late and they all wanted to be home for the barbeque that Jecht was holding for Wakka. Wakka was surprised when he had heard that Jecht was planning on holding a neighborhood-wide barbeque for his son's lover, but the other teens weren't so shocked, and they reassured that Jecht had changed a little over the past few months.

Once everyone was at the barbeque, the mingling truly began, where all the adults started asking Wakka about this and that, how are your classes doing, how do you like your teachers, et cetera. It wasn't for two hours that Wakka was able to return to his friends at the side of the house, where they had been hanging out, laughing at Wakka's uncomfortable situation.

"They've missed you too, I see," Riku commented with a chuckle. Wakka laughed in response.

Chappu walked up to his older brother and tapped him on the shoulder. "Can I talk to you inside?" he asked.

Wakka nodded. "Sure thing." Tidus got up to follow, but Chappu shook his head and Tidus looked at them as they walked away, slightly confused.

The two brothers sat in the den on Jecht's comfortable, leather couch and faced each other.

"Wassup?" Wakka asked.

Chappu didn't let his eyes meet Wakka's gaze. "I, uh, need to tell you somethin'," the younger redhead said, looking down at the floor.

Wakka felt the worst coming, and he rubbed his brother's shoulder encouragingly. "Take a deep breath, Chappu. Let it out slowly. Tell me what's wrong."

"It's about me and Kairi," Chappu began.

Wakka raised an eyebrow. He wasn't exactly the best person to come to for relationship advice.

"Kairi and I are really happy together," Chappu continued. "But something's been nagging me. I, uh, I think I'm bi."

Wakka chuckled. "I see. You worried about how you're gonna tell Kairi?"

Chappu sighed. "Kinda. I was trying to fight it, but as soon as I saw you, with your bulging chest and big arms, it hit me like a blitzball that I found you attractive. Not that I'm in love with ya or anything," he added quickly and with a laugh. Wakka laughed too. "It's just that I dunno what to tell Kairi, ya know?"

"The truth," Wakka said with a shrug. "If Kairi's really the girl we all know and love, she'll let it slide, ya? She knows you love her, right?"

Chappu nodded without saying a word. "Thanks, Wakka."

"Eh, no problem for my little bro, ya?" Wakka grabbed Chappu in a headlock and laughed as Chappu struggled against his muscular arms.

The brothers made their way back outside and stopped at the corner of the house, where Chappu got Wakka's attention. "One more thing," he said. "I don't want the others to know yet, you know?"

"Don' worry about it," Wakka said, patting his sibling on the shoulder. "They won' here it from me, ya?"

The two of them rejoined their friends at the side of the house and finished their night jokingly, having fun, and reminiscing. Before too long, however, they were all ready to head back to their own houses.

Tidus, Wakka, and Chappu were getting ready to leave when Jecht came up to them and asked if he could talk to Tidus. Wakka and Chappu stayed there, to make sure Jecht didn't try anything funny, but they agreed.

"I, uh, was kinda wonderin'," Jecht began nervously, scratching his neck, "if you wanted to, you know, stay over here tonight?" he asked his son.

Tidus' eyes didn't widen in surprise or anything, but he closed them, suppressing his true feelings. "I don't know. I'll think about it," he replied. "I'll go home and call you."

Jecht kind of smiled and he nodded. His eyes were alive and vibrant, something Wakka hadn't seen for some time. The three of the younger men turned and made their way back to their own house, talking on the way.

"So, do you think you'll go back over there?" Chappu asked Tidus.

"Hell no," Tidus said, not even looking over at the teen. "He just wants to smack me around, and I know it."

Wakka wasn't quite so sure. "I dunno," he said tentatively. "I saw his eyes, bud. He looked genuinely happy that you said you'd think about it. Maybe you should give him another chance, ya?"

Tidus thought silently to himself the rest of the way home. When they reached their house, Wakka reached to open the door and Tidus spoke up, surprising both of his redheaded friends.

"I'll go," he said, "but only if Chappu goes with me."

"Why Chappu?" Wakka asked, hurt. He'd wanted to spend his first night back with Tidus.

"Kind of break him into having me back," Tidus replied. "I don't think he'd appreciate you being there just yet. It's just a cautionary thing."

As much as he didn't like it, Wakka had to agree. "Alright, but I wanna know what goes on over there. Chappu, keep an eye on both of them. If there's any sign of hostility, get between them."

Chappu nodded. "No prob. There won't be any fighting as long as I'm there."

The boys entered the house and helped Tidus to pack a bag of clothes. Within the hour, the blonde was on the phone with his dad. Chappu and Wakka were listening intently to Tidus' side of the conversation.

"…Yes, he has to come, or I'm not coming over…No…Sure thing…See you in a little while." Tidus clicked the phone back on the hook and turned to his friends.

"Well?" Wakka asked, crossing his arms.

"He wants me to bring some sodas with me," Tidus replied. "Apparently, he's intending on staying up for a while tonight."

"You'd better hurry," Wakka said as Chappu rushed into his room to pack a bag, "it's getting late, eh?'

Tidus nodded. Chappu was in his room for about five minutes, then he met Tidus out in the den. Tidus gave Wakka a swift kiss and the two younger men headed out the front door.

* * *

Wow, this chapter turned out kind of long, but I don't care! (sadistic laugh) Seeing as I'm going off to college this weekend, updates may slow down. I have no idea. This story's got a lot of stuff in store of it, so I'll try to continue it as best I can. It also promises to be much longer than its prequel story. R&R please! 


	2. Arrival

PURPLE HIPPOPOTAMUS! Oh, and no, I will _not_ be writing Tidus' night at his dad's.

* * *

Twilight Gaze

* * *

Chapter 2: Arrival

* * *

The next morning, Wakka met Tidus and Chappu at Jecht's front door, a huge grin plastered on his face. When Chappu asked what was up, Wakka could hardly contain his excitement. "We're getting new neighbors!"

Newcomers to the islands were rare occurrences, so were generally well celebrated by the people of the island. When Kairi and her family moved to the islands, the entire neighborhood threw a massive welcoming party that helped them make friends quickly. Wakka felt like he did back then, and it was obvious by the smile on his face.

Tidus and Chappu followed Wakka out to the road and into Riku's front yard, where the silver haired boy was waiting, and leaning against the front of his house. When he saw them, he stood up straight and grinned. The four boys proceeded behind Riku's house, into Wakka's backyard. Soon, they were on the road in front of Wakka's house, watching the massive moving truck backing into a driveway two houses down. Under close inspection, Tidus saw Selphie, Sora, and Kairi already at the truck, talking with what would appear to be the family's mother. There were also several of the teens' parents there, as well, but most of them were talking with the father on the other side of the front yard.

By the time Wakka and the boys reached the newcomers' front lawn, Selphie and the others had finished their conversation with the mother and were waiting for the boys.

"So what's up?" Wakka asked Selphie, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"They're the Dinchts," Selphie replied. "The mother's name is Lydia, and the father's name is Gerald, but Lydia told us to call her Ma Dincht."

"Do they have any kids?" Tidus asked.

Kairi nodded. "They do, but he won't be here until tomorrow. He had to stay at home for an extra night, waiting for something important to come in the mail, but Ma Dincht assured us that he'd be here tomorrow."

"She said that his name is Zell, and he's about our age," Sora added, excited.

"Look at us," Wakka said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "We're acting like a bunch of kids again."

Kairi's gaze fell on Tidus. "Hey, weren't you spending the night with Jecht? How'd that go?" she asked the blonde.

Tidus rolled his eyes. "For me, it was horrible. My old man wanted to stay up all night and 'bond.' Good thing Chappu was there, or I'da beat him senseless."

"Guess he's trying to make up for lost time, ya?" Wakka said, sneaking an arm around Tidus' waist.

Gerald Dincht approached the group and introduced himself, as the parents had moved on to talk with Ma Dincht. "Howdy there, kids," he said, tipping his cowboy hat and giving them all a warm smile.

"Hello, Mr. Dincht," Kairi said with a similarly warm smile.

"Ah, just call me Gerald," Gerald replied with a chuckle. His eyes fell on Wakka's arm around Tidus' waist and he smiled again. "Good to see Zelly won't be the only one here," he said, almost in a whisper.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Selphie asked the father.

Gerald shook his head, laughing. "Never mind me, kids. I'm old. I ramble on about nothing. It's good to know that Zelly'll have kids his age to hang out with around here."

"He's getting here tomorrow, right?" Sora asked Gerald, who nodded.

"S'right. He'll be here around noon tomorrow. With any luck, we'll have most of his stuff unpacked and in his room by then."

"That's good to hear," Kairi said. "At least he won't be moving into a jail cell, right?" she added with a nudge to Tidus' ribs.

Confused, Gerald let that comment go, but he turned to the truck. "I should start unloading."

"Want some help?" Wakka asked.

Gerald laughed. "Sure thing. We could use a big guy like you to help with the furniture."

The kids followed Gerald to the truck, and the group began to unload the Dinchts' stuff.

* * *

After three hours of tirelessly working together to get most of the truck unloaded, Gerald had the kids rest on the porch while Ma Dincht made some lemonade in the kitchen. She handed them all glasses of the sweet drink and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly – moving someone into a house is tiring work.

Gerald was standing in the opening of the moving truck, inspecting what was left to be moved in when Tidus noticed his father walking down the road towards them. He had obviously heard about the new people in town, and Tidus was sure he was coming over to invite Gerald over to see his athletic trophies and such. He had done that with Kairi's dad, too.

"Hey, there, need some help?" Jecht asked Gerald.

"Sure." Gerald jumped down and the two introduced each other with a friendly handshake. "Kids, go on," Gerald called. "I think the rest of this stuff can be done single-handedly."

The kids didn't move, as they were watching Jecht, but they all agreed that they were finished with the move-in.

Jecht and Gerald continued to unload the truck, talking up a storm as they went. It turned out that Gerald had been a rodeo star back in his hometown, and Zell was really into T-boarding. In fact, that's what he had to wait on back home: a new T-board. The two dads hit it off well, talking about Tidus' blitzing skills and Zell's kickboxing capabilities, gloating about their own respective trophies, and how life is lived here on the islands and back where the Dinchts came from.

"Looks like your dad made a new friend today," Kairi said, poking Tidus in the shoulder as the teens left the front yard and headed back to Wakka's place.

"It would seem that way, wouldn't it?" Riku said, not entirely convinced.

"He _is_ human, you know," Kairi said, sending Riku a dirty look.

The kids talked about this and that as they walked back to Wakka's, and after they got there, and well into the evening. Tidus' stay at Jecht's had been forgotten, and Tidus was glad for that. He didn't want to tell the others that he had actually kind of enjoyed himself. Chappu was quiet about it, as well, and Tidus silently thanked him for that, too.

* * *

The next morning, the kids returned to the Dinchts' house to see if anything needed to be done before Zell arrived. When Gerald and Ma Dincht said no, the kids started home, but Ma Dincht invited them in for an elegant breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage links, bacon, biscuits, and creamy gravy that Sora just couldn't get enough of.

Sitting at the rather large dinner table that the Dinchts had brought with them, the kids couldn't stop laughing as Sora took thirds and fourths of biscuits and gravy. Riku wasn't laughing, however. He was blushing with embarrassment.

"How can you eat so much?" the white haired boy growled at his boyfriend.

"Maybe it's you, giving too much to his heart, you're starving the boy," Kairi laughed. Sora tried to chuckle, but food fell out of his mouth. He was really pigging out.

Riku put his head in his hands and sighed. "I'm heading out," he said. He stood up from the table and looked over at Ma Dincht, who was washing dishes at the sink. "Thank you, Ma Dincht. Breakfast was delicious. I'll be going now. Do you want me to do something with my plate?"

"No, Riku dear, leave it there, I'll get it in a moment," Ma Dincht replied with a kind smile.

Riku left the table and headed out the door, leaving the other kids to laugh at Sora, who was working on his sixth sausage link.

Riku treaded his way over to the driveway and looked at the Dincht's garage, separated from their one-story, quaint little house. There were three cars. Riku paused for a moment. Hadn't there only been two cars yesterday? He was sure of it. Riku snuck up to the garage and had a peek inside.

The punching bag at the back of the garage swung up, almost hitting the rafters of the garage, before swinging back down, only to be assaulted again by a flurry of punches and kicks that sent it flying higher than before. Riku didn't think that punching bags could withstand such abuse, but this one obviously could. Intrigued, Riku made his way into the garage until he saw the abuser of the bag.

The boy's gloved fists were like lightning and his blonde, gelled hair didn't waver as he ducked in and out of the bag's returning swings, only to throw a massive kick, planting his hightop sneaker into the punching bag, sending it away again. There was a strange tattoo surrounding the boy's oceanic blue left eye. The boy wore shorts and a jacket that only kind of hid a muscular frame. When he spun around for a roundhouse kick, Riku noticed that the kid had a massive chest, probably from throwing so many punches, displayed by a low-cut tanktop.

Finally, the assaulter of the punching bag ceased his onslaught and wiped his brow with the back of one gloved hand. He turned and looked at Riku. "Who are you?" he asked. Riku was stunned by the boy's blue eyes, but he was able to respond. "The name's Riku. I take it you're Zell?"

The blonde nodded. "That'd be me." He smacked the punching bag offhandedly and made his way out of the garage, kind of pushing Riku out with his presence.

"We weren't expecting you until noon today," Riku explained.

"I sped," Zell replied, not giving Riku another glance. Riku didn't like this kid's attitude. It was too, "Why are you looking at me?"-ish.

Riku rolled his eyes and headed off towards his house. He didn't need this, this early in the morning.

Zell made his way towards the house. He hadn't wanted to move again – his dad's job was always making the family move from one place to another. Previously, Zell had been lucky to stay in the same school district for two moves. This particular move, however, was outrageous. It was on an island! There couldn't possibly be anything fun about an island.

Zell was fuming when he stepped in through the front door of the house. He took a few steps until he saw the kitchen, where his mother was, and the dining room, where a rather large array of people about Zell's age were chowing down on Ma Dincht's specialty breakfast of biscuits and gravy.

"Hey, Ma, who the hell are these people?" Zell cried.

Ma Dincht furrowed her brow. "Zell! What have I told you about using that kind of language in our house?"

"I didn't think that applied to this house yet," Zell muttered, crossing his arms behind his hand and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "It only applied to the last house for two months."

Ma Dincht sighed and went back to washing a plate in the sink. "These are the neighbors' kids, Zelly. They're all about your age, and they came over to see if you'd gotten here yet. I'm surprised to see you this early."

Kairi stood up and walked over to Zell, a hand outstretched. "My name's Kairi," she said, rather chipper. "Nice to meet you, Zell!"

Zell leaned against the wall separating the kitchen from the den and looked down at Kairi's hand. After a moment, Kairi pulled it back, her smile gone, and Zell looked over at Ma Dincht. "So when're we moving again?"

"Your father has told his company that he wishes to stay here until you finish your first year of college," Ma Dincht replied, not looking back at her son. "He's threatened to quit if they didn't allow it."

Zell's eyes went as big as saucers. "That's nuts! We're on a damn island!" he cried, leaping to his feet and gesturing violently. Kairi had to back up to avoid being smacked in the face by his gloved hand.

A clinking noise was heard from the sink and everyone's attention was drawn to Ma Dincht, who was shaking slightly. "ZELL DINCHT!" she screamed, turning to face her son. "I never want to hear you insult this place ever again, especially in the presence of people who have lived here longer than you! It is rude, crude, socially unacceptable, and downright mean, and I want you to apologize to each one of these fine youngsters."

"Tch," Zell scoffed, leaning against the wall and looking away.

"NOW!"

Zell jumped, as well as everyone else in the room, and the new kid blushed. "I, uh, guess I didn't mean that," he said sheepishly. "Sorry."

Ma Dincht was red in the face, but her expression softened considerably. "Your room is the first door on the left. Please go make sure nothing was left out in the move."

Zell nodded without a word and turned towards the hallway, turning into the first door on the left and closing it soundlessly behind him.

"You'll have to excuse my son," Ma Dincht said, bowing deeply to the other kids in the room. "He hates having to move all over the place. We were only at our last house for two and a half months, because of Gerald's job, and before that, we were lucky to stay for a whole six months."

"No worries, Ma Dincht," Selphie said, raising herself from the table. "My family used to move a lot, too. I know what it's like. Maybe I should talk to Zell about it sometime?"

"I think he'd appreciate a little empathy, dear," Ma Dincht replied with a warm smile. She caught a glance at the clock on the kitchen wall. "Oh dear, it's almost noon. You kids should head out. I'm sure you have a great day planned for yourselves."

The younger generation of Destiny Island thanked Ma Dincht for the exquisite breakfast, cleaned off their plates for her in the trash, and headed out the front door, each with one of two expressions: a warm smile for Ma Dincht, or a sullen, worried look about Zell.

Once the kids were out of earshot of the Dinchts' place, Wakka spoke up. "I don' like him."

"He's just upset," Selphie replied, not looking at her redheaded friend. "I know what it's like. It's tough moving around so much, not being able to hang onto your friends for more than a couple months, and having to start all over if it's a really big move."

"I still don' like him," Wakka said defiantly, looking down at his feet as he walked.

"He's cute, though," Kairi giggled. "I'll give him that. He's easy on the eyes."

Everyone agreed, but Chappu kept his mouth shut. He merely chuckled, like he would have done had he not been interested. But the truth was, he had been. He'd noticed Zell's gleaming blue eyes as well. He'd probably noticed Zell's eyes more than anyone else in the room. The others hadn't seen it. Chappu had. Whenever Zell had been looking at them at the table, Chappu had seen the look. He'd used that look several times, and he knew it. The look that said, "damn, where have you been?" But that isn't what bothered Chappu.

What bothered Chappu was that the look had been directed at Wakka.

* * *

DUN DUN DUNNNNNN…Again, this fic has a helluva lot of stuff planned for it, and that's just the first sample. Some things to look forward to are:

Kairi/Selphie!

Jecht/Ma Dincht!

A Lemon including a hamburger and a television set!

Moogle poaching!

Okay, so I'm lying, but there really _is_ a crapload of stuff in store for this fic. R&R Pwease.


	3. Jerk

Yep, I have absolutely _no_ free time around here. (sigh) I haven't stopped running around like a headless chicken for days, and I don't personally think it's going to get any better until after football season ends. Oh well. Therefore, I shall be on hiatus from One Day Too Many, as I have previously said, and I shall be working primarily on Twilight Gaze, and perhaps some one-shots and Turbulent Waters. There's no telling…I have too many stories to write in college…

* * *

Twilight Gaze

-

Chapter 3: Jerk

* * *

Tidus wasn't sure about the new kid. Zell's actions in his own kitchen earlier that morning had given off a horrible first impression, and everyone knows how hard those are to overwrite. Wakka had been somewhat quiet the following afternoon, after he and Chappu had gone off to talk about something-or-other. Strangely enough, Chappu had been left out of the ring, so he had no idea what the two of them had been talking about. Chappu kept giving Tidus nervous glances throughout the evening, but neither he nor his older brother would spill the beans.

Tidus wasn't a very happy person about that.

Sora and Riku were off doing something together, alone, on their own, somewhere else, out there, out of sight, but not out of mind, away from the others. Selphie and Kairi had gone to the island to hang out and watch the sunset. Wakka and Chappu had gone off to the docks to talk about something, which left Tidus all to himself. He sighed, looking out over the ocean. He, for the first time in two years, felt completely abandoned, and he didn't know why.

Sitting on a grassy hill down the street from the docks, Tidus sat with his elbows propped up on his knees and his chin in his hands. He sighed again, but held his breath as he heard someone approaching from behind. He didn't even twitch when he saw strange, red and black shoes and naked shins.

Zell sat down as comfortably as he could on the sloping hillside and propped himself up on the heels of his hands, gazing out into the deepening sky.

"Sure it pretty, ain't it?" the new kid asked nonchalantly.

Tidus didn't answer. What was this, he was trying to make up for earlier today? Tidus shook his head. That wasn't going to happen – Zell had made an ass of himself in front of every kid on the island and his own mother, and Tidus didn't think that it would be very easy to make it up to anyone.

"Hey, mind answerin'?" Zell demanded.

Tidus rolled his eyes and huffed. "What do you want me to say? 'Sure, it's beautiful, wanna fuck?'"

Zell laughed. "Not quite, but it'd be nice to be acknowledged."

"You mean like you acknowledged us this morning?" Tidus shot back. "Nice try. You messed up big time this morning."

Zell looked down at his feet and sighed. "Yeah, I did mess up. I'm not like that, normally. I'm usually a lot nicer than that, believe me."

Tidus shook his head and looked away from the blonde next to him. "Wish I could, but you were horrible."

Zell sighed, growled, and stood up quickly. "Give me another chance! I can make it up to you guys. Let's hang out some time. What do you guys do for fun around here?"

Tidus didn't say anything for a moment, then he looked up at Zell. "You're serious?" he asked sincerely.

Zell looked down at the younger blonde with wide, truth-filled blue eyes. Those eyes could hypnotize.

"We're heading out to the island tomorrow," Tidus said, glancing out to the island where Kairi and Selphie were doing whatever they were doing.

"What's on it?" Zell asked, gazing out at the island.

Tidus rolled his eyes. "Come by the docks early tomorrow morning and you'll find out, won't you?" Tidus moved to get up, but a gloved hand stopped him by being placed on his shoulder.

"Tidus, please," Zell said quietly behind the blonde.

"I've already given you a second chance," Tidus replied. "We'll see how it goes tomorrow morning."

Zell nodded.

Tidus rose to his feet, continuing to stare out at the glistening ocean. The sun was completely under the horizon now, and only traces of sunlight were shining from its previous position. "Don't be late," he said.

Zell nodded and turned back towards the lines of houses up the hill from the docks. As he started back, the older blonde could only wonder if Tidus seriously hated him so. It seemed unlikely, considering the fact that he'd only met Zell once. The fistfighter knew that first impressions were hard to override, and he had made a huge mistake the morning prior to this encounter, but he was determined to get the other teens on the island to like him; especially one of them.

Tidus turned his head just enough to watch Zell walking away. He growled in his throat as the older blonde trudged towards the houses up the hill. First impressions. How could anyone override those? Zell seemed determine to do just that. Tidus sighed and turned back to the island, where he saw a small boat leaving the shore. Kairi and Selphie were heading back to the main island. Tidus started heading down the hill to meet them at the docks. Wait until they hear who's coming to the island tomorrow!

-

Eight-thirty the next morning, Tidus and Wakka were waiting on the others to reach the docks. Chappu had to clean the garage – he'd be down to the island once he was finished. Wakka had already moved their boat to the dock, and the muscled redhead was already moving Riku and Sora's boat there, too. They were hoping to save a little time that way.

When Wakka had put Riku and Sora's boat into the dock and tied it down, he climbed out of the boat and onto the docks with Tidus. Tidus wrapped his arms around Wakka's waist and smiled up warmly into the redhead's face. Wakka's hands found their way to Tidus' hips, and the two men just stood there for the longest time, just gazing into each other's eyes.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," a female voice giggled.

Turning their heads, the couple saw Selphie giggling hysterically on the end of the dock. She had on a purple tanktop that didn't very well hide her considerable assets and a pair of hip-hugger jeans. She was wearing her special red tennis shoes with violet shoe laces – those were her "special" play shoes. Tidus raised an eyebrow at the youngest of their friends, and chuckled. Was something special supposed to happen today?

"No one asked you, eh?" Wakka laughed, hugging Tidus closer to him. Tidus reached up and turned Wakka's face towards his. The two of them shared a long, sweet kiss before Kairi's voice sounded.

"Think their faces will freeze like that?" she asked, parking herself at the side of the boathouse and taking off her skates, her white tennis shoes slung over her shoulder.

"Probably," Selphie said with another giggle.

"Where are Riku and Sora?" Tidus asked her after he and Wakka had broken their liplock.

"They're coming," Kairi said.

"And our other little guest?" Selphie demanded.

"Haven't seen him yet," Tidus shrugged.

"Guest?" Wakka repeated blankly. "Who's comin' with us?"

"Zell," Kairi answered. "Tidus invited him to come with us today to give him a second chance."

"Second chances are always good, ya?" Wakka laughed, turning his head back to Tidus. "Aren't you the little Jesus today? Forgivin' everyone."

Tidus chuckled and opened his mouth to say something else, but someone else's voice interrupted his own.

"Made it!"

Sora hopped off the front of Riku's bike and landed almost daintily in front of the group. Riku piloted the bicycle to the bike rack next to the boathouse and set it there. He then rejoined the group.

"Okay," the silver-haired teen said, giving the group a quick glance over, "looks like we're all here. Let's get going."

"I'll pull our boat out," Selphie said, heading into the boathouse.

"Bring out Kairi's too," Tidus called. Selphie nodded and disappeared into the boathouse.

"Why do we need both of the girls' boats?" Riku asked.

Tidus and Wakka separated and looked over at the other couple. Tidus answered. "Zell's coming with us."

"Why?" Sora asked, crossing his arms. "That jackass doesn't deserve to know about the island."

"Give him a second chance," Tidus said. "He bugged me last night about how that wasn't really him, and how he wanted to try to make it up to us."

Riku shrugged. "Sounds good. If he ever gets here," he added, giving the area a dark glance.

"How long are you guys just going to sit there? I thought we had an island to go to?"

Zell was sitting on top of the boathouse, watching the others. He lifted off, dropping to the dock below. He wore a similar outfit to yesterday, but this one had an overall blue theme, not red.

"How long have you been there?" Wakka asked.

"Long enough to know that you guys are gay," Zell said, pointing a not-exactly-accusatory finger at Tidus and Wakka.

Tidus blushed and shrugged it away. "Whatever." Selphie waved from the end of the dock. Both of the girls' boats were out of the boathouse. "Let's get going."

The seven of them paired up, leaving Selphie in her own boat alone. Tidus and Wakka and Riku and Sora were in Wakka's and Riku's boats, respectively, and Kairi took it upon herself to take the new kid to the island in her boat. She was the most emotionally stable of anyone in the group, so it made sense to everyone.

The boat ride was short, of course, and before long everyone was stretched out on the sand, taking in the bright sunlight and gazing out into the distance, where the sky and sea became one and the colors became difficult to differentiate.

"This is a cool island," Zell said, giving it a glance. "What do you guys do around here?"

"Just hang out and things like that," Sora said with a slight shrug. "When we were little, we'd spar in the sand, collect seashells, even build rafts and pretend to want to leave the island to look for other worlds."

"Sounds pretty cool," Zell said, gazing out at the ocean.

"Sparring," Kairi whispered. "We haven't done that in a while, you know. We should try it out again."

Tidus laughed. "Sure. First fight: Riku versus Sora!"

Riku laughed, but Sora turned pale. Riku had never been beaten by Sora in a spar. Ever. Riku used to make fun of him about it, but that ended after they had become a couple.

"'We,' Kairi?" Wakka laughed. "If I remember right, you don't fight."

Kairi whipped around in a pirouette and returned to facing Wakka with a wooden dagger in her hand. "I never did it on the island because most of you guys would whoop my butt, but Selphie and I used to practice in my backyard on the main island."

Zell chuckled. "Can I take someone on?" he asked.

Tidus considered. "You're a martial artist, right? It wouldn't be fair to face Wakka or Selphie." He glanced at Riku and Sora. "One of you guys, maybe?"

"Why not you?" Riku asked, pointing at Tidus accusatorily.

Tidus sighed with a grin. "Okay, sure, but I was hoping to break him in a little faster."

"I remember saying that to you when we were eight," Wakka laughed.

Tidus went to the seaside shack and entered, leaving the group momentarily. He reemerged with his trusty wooden sword labeled "Brotherhood." It had been given to him by Sora as a gift and sign of friendship. Brandishing his wooden blade, Tidus took a pose and invited Zell to come at him. Wakka and the others stood back in a large circle to give them room.

"Let's see what you've got!" Tidus called out with a laugh.

Zell grinned back. "Likewise!" he called.

Tidus charged forward and gave a tremendous sideways swipe with the Brotherhood, which Zell easily dodged and delivered two lightning-fast punches to Tidus' stomach. Tidus flew back a foot or so before recovering his balance and slicing downward from overhead, but Zell twisted out of the way and gave a roundhouse to Sora's shoulder, when sent him spinning through the air and landing roughly in the sand. Brotherhood landed beside him, lying flat in the sand.

"Oof," Kairi cringed.

Tidus was back up quickly, grabbing the Brotherhood on his way up. He charged Zell again, but Zell was anticipating it, and ducked into a roll that put him directly in front of Tidus. Springing up, Zell delivered an uppercut to Tidus' chin, sending the swordsman flying backwards. Zell landed in the sand easily and grinned as Tidus landed on his butt in the sand, the Brotherhood far out of reach.

"Give up?" Zell asked, his grin unfading.

Tidus fumed, but he nodded. He couldn't beat Zell because he couldn't get close enough to slash him, and he's a fistfighter! Tidus didn't know how to interpret such a situation.

Wakka walked over and helped his lover to his feet. Wakka looked over at Zell and smiled. "You're pretty good, ya?"

"You bet!" Zell said with a laugh, punching one fist into the other open palm. "I'm the best fistfighter Balamb had to offer!"

Riku rolled his eyes, but Zell wasn't finished.

"No one stands a chance against me in a spar," Zell continued, punching the air wildly. "I'm the greatest fighter around. I'm surprised Tidus lasted as long as he did. Most people can't stand up after one hit. I was holding back, of course. Wouldn't want to break his jaw or anything like that."

"Gee, thanks," Tidus said, now feeling thoroughly trash-talked.

"Hey, let up," Kairi told Zell with a pointed finger.

"Why? I won," Zell laughed. "Winner gets bragging rights, right? Isn't that how you guys did it when you were younger?"

"Yeah, _when we were younger_," Sora muttered. "We're above the gloating now."

"That's stupid," Zell spat. "The winner should be allowed to gloat, since they won."

Riku shook his head. He'd heard enough. He walked over to Zell and placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder. Without looking at him, Riku said, "Congratulations." He wrapped his ankle around Zell's and pulled forward, sending Zell's leg out, while yanking back with the hand placed on Zell's shoulder. Before Zell knew what was happening, he was flat on his back in the sand, staring up at a very evil glare from Riku.

"Jerk," Selphie said, turning towards the docks. "There's a boat for you at the dock. You can row yourself back."

The six of the original teens from the island headed towards the dock, leaving the new kid lying on his back in the sand, staring up at the empty, emotionless blue sky.

* * *

Heh. Sorry for a late update – college is a bitch. I'll attempt to get the next chapter up soon. It will be a real story advancer, so get ready for a shocker. Ready and review please. 


	4. Accident

Three day weekends are nice. I've been able to finish one chapter of Twilight Gaze, so I thought, since I'm amazingly bored, I'll just keep writing. For once, however, I would like to dedicate a chapter to someone.

To Brandon, who is an awesome guy and someone I would love to spend more time with. There's always tomorrow.

Anyway, this chapter will seriously move things along, so be prepared for anything.

Enjoy.

* * *

Twilight Gaze

Chapter 4: Accident

* * *

Wakka had gone to the Dinchts' house to explain how Zell had acted after the spar on the island that evening. Ma Dincht was both shocked and unsurprised. 

"He always has been a tad bit arrogant when he bests someone," Ma Dincht said sadly. "Would you like to stay for dinner? I hate cooking for two."

"Two?" Wakka asked blankly. "Where's Gerald?"

"He has gone out with Tidus' father Jecht to be shown around the island. Those two really hit it off," she added with a smile.

Wakka smiled, but it was a hollow smile that Ma Dincht read straight through, but she didn't question. There would be more time to ask about Jecht. "Dinner?" she asked again.

Wakka's smile became genuine and the redhead nodded. "I'd love to," he replied through his smile. Perhaps this would give him a chance to talk to Zell in a situation where he won't be tempted to best anyone at anything, impress anyone, et cetera. Maybe.

It was half an hour before Zell came trudging in through the front door. He was soaking wet and looked like a drowned rat. His hair had fallen about his face from the gel being washed out. Wakka, sitting at the kitchen table, saw him as he entered the house, had to stifle a laugh.

"What happened, dear?" Ma Dincht asked her son from the stove. Zell could smell asparagus being cooked, as well as chicken in the oven and possibly chocolate chip cookies as well.

"I kind of got left behind," Zell explained, heading for the bathroom. "I'll be right back." His voice seemed very depressed. Wakka figured that he knew why.

After a few minutes, Zell reappeared from the bathroom in nothing but a towel, his hair respiked in front. He looked over at his mother at the stove and began explaining his side of things. Somehow, he didn't notice Wakka sitting at the table.

"I was accidentally left behind by the others, and I had to row back, but a gust of wind threw the boat over and I had to swim back to the docks," Zell explained. He sighed heavily and Wakka had to stop a gasp. Zell's defined, muscular chest rose and fell with the sight. Wakka's gaze went to the martial artist's arms, holding up his towel. Wakka was impressed; he was almost as muscular as Wakka himself. He had quite the tight little body. Wakka's line of vision fell to the towel, and Zell's narrow hips. There was something…odd about Zell's towel. Wakka couldn't place it.

"I'm going to go put some clothes on now," Zell said drearily, turning away from the two of them to head back down the hallway. Wakka watched as the towel moved and he couldn't stop the gasp this time. The towel was swinging a bit low. Zell was packing, and Wakka knew it. Wakka watched, almost hypnotized, as Zell's cute bubble ass slid underneath the towel as he walked away. Wakka smacked himself upside the head and let his eyes refocus on the kitchen table's tablecloth. He shouldn't be noticing Zell like that, he's Tidus'!

Five minutes later, Zell reappeared in a baggy pair of sweats and a tank top. The tank top accented his muscled chest nicely, and Wakka had to resist the urge to smack himself again.

Finally, Zell's eyes found Wakka sitting at the table.

"Woah!" the blonde cried. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to know what you look like in just a towel," Wakka replied with a smirk, fighting back a massive blush.

Zell's face decided to steal the blush, and he turned bright red. It only faded a little and his voice cracked slightly when he asked his mother, "Asparagus and chicken?"

Ma Dincht nodded. "You always could distinguish asparagus from other veggies. I can't do it, myself."

Zell sat at the table across from Wakka, but didn't let Wakka see his face straight-on. His eyes were firmly fixed on his mother, laboring away at the table.

"Where's Dad?" he asked her.

"Out with Jecht," Ma Dincht replied, still not looking at her son when she spoke.

Zell muttered something under his breath that Wakka couldn't catch, but he let his voice rise to audibility. "I don't like him a whole lot, you know."

"That doesn't matter," Ma Dincht replied sternly. "Your father has taken a liking to him, and you know how rarely that happens when we move to a new place."

Zell nodded, beaten. He turned his gaze down to the table, lowering his line of vision below Wakka's eyes. Wakka raised an eyebrow and slightly shook his head. "Zell, you can look at me, ya know."

Zell shook his head and looked over to the side. "Nah, that's okay," he replied quietly. "Not after how I've been treating you guys."

Wakka's eyelids drooped as he took that in. He looked almost disappointed. "C'mon, man, you just had a bad coupla days. Tidus will get over bein' beat. He always does."

Zell gave a small sigh and he finally turned his face back up to meet Wakka's eyes. Wakka was almost taken aback by how blue Zell's eyes were once again.

"Why don't you two go outside or something?" Ma Dincht asked, still choosing not to look at her son or his friend. "Dinner won't be ready for a while still."

"Alright," Zell said, getting up from the table. He headed out the door, Wakka following behind him closely.

The two of them turned at the sidewalk and headed down the road a ways, talking.

"So," Zell started, "do you think I can make it up to you guys for the way I've been treating you?"

"Sure," Wakka replied, not looking at Zell. "All it takes is a little patience and not acting like an asshole. Give them time and I'm sure everyone will forgive you on how you acted."

"Thanks," Zell said, his eyes low to the ground.

"No problem," Wakka said with a clap on Zell's shoulder. "That's what friends are for, ya? I forgive ya. I know how it is moving to a new place and being a sore winner."

Zell chuckled lightly and they noticed how late it was getting. They hadn't walked very far, but they figured that they needed to head back to the Dinchts' house before it got too dark.

Walking back into the house, Zell noticed that the asparagus was turned off and the chicken was on the stove, burnt to a crisp. Zell automatically began to worry – his mom never messed up dinner. Zell looked around and noticed a note on the refrigerator. Picking it up, Zell read it aloud so Wakka would know what was going on.

It read:

"Zell, there's been an accident. I want Wakka to take you to the D.I. Hospital immediately. And please, dear, hurry. Love, Ma."

"You heard her," Wakka said, turning towards the front door. "Let's head out."

-

With a quick run to Wakka's house, he and Zell were in Wakka's car quickly, and speeding off to the Destiny Island Hospital with Chappu in the back seat. Tidus had gone to Riku's for the night. The drive took ten minutes despite Wakka's speeding, and they reached the Hospital rather quickly. Parking as close to the building as they could, the three boys leapt from the car and headed inside. At the information desk, Wakka inquired the receptionist about any new admissions from accidents.

"Room 134, right down this hall," the woman said, pointing down a hall to her left, the boys' right. They thanked her and took off at a fast walk down the hall.

The three of them knew which room it was before they could see the number on the wall. Ma Dincht was talking to a doctor, her face red and tears falling down her face. She suddenly grabbed the doctor hard by the shoulders, and he pulled her in for a hug, which she collapsed into. Zell's eyes widened and he sprinted down the hall, closely followed by the two redheads.

Stopping at his mother, Zell's eyes were tearing up. "What is it, Ma?" he cried.

Ma Dincht took one look at Zell and burst into tears again.

"What happened?" Zell asked again, this time in a very small voice.

The doctor patted Ma Dincht on the back and released her to Wakka, who took her into an embrace. "I'm afraid that your father was involved in a car accident earlier this evening. The driver, Jecht, made it through with a mere broken leg, but your father Gerald wasn't so lucky. I'm sorry," he added, a bit anticlimactic.

"What?" Chappu gasped. Zell merely blinked.

"What do you mean?" the blonde asked in a cracked voice.

"I'm sorry, Zell," the doctor repeated, "but your father didn't survive the crash."

Zell just stared at the doctor for a moment. Then suddenly, "NO! It's not true!" Zell collapsed to the floor on his hands and knees. Tears found their way from his eyes to the tile floor.

Chappu backed up from the sobbing blonde, a little surprised. Ma Dincht looked down at her son and sobbed uncontrollably. Wakka was able to let her go.

Zell was up on his feet and running down the hallway. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Each step he took felt like he was flying for a mile before it hit the ground. Tears flew out from his face, floating through the air for what seemed like forever before giving in to gravity and collapsing to the floor. Wakka, Ma Dincht, and Chappu just stood there, watching as the blonde chased a ghost down the hallway. He turned into a door and the doctor let out a gasp.

"That door only leads to an elevator that goes to the roof," the doctor said urgently. "In a state of mental distress such as his, Zell may do something drastic."

"Zell," Ma Dincht sobbed.

-

Zell sat with his knees drawn up to his chest, sitting on a small cement block on the roof of the hospital. The helipad was a mere fifty feet away, and it had no helicopter parked on it. Zell was staring up at the sky, watching the glittering objects known widely as stars. A tear fell down the blonde's face as he sat there, staring at nothing. The normally skittish fistfighter didn't even flinch as a large hand found his shoulder.

"Go away," Zell said, not looking at Wakka.

Wakka didn't chuckle, didn't move. "No way, brudda, you need someone to be with you, and don't gimme that 'I want to be alone' crap, got it?"

Zell continued to look away from the redhead. He didn't say anything at first. Then, "What the hell do you know?"

"I know what it's like to lose someone dear to me," Wakka replied, removing his hand from Zell's shoulder. He sat down on the block next to Zell. "I don't know exactly how you feel, but I have a good guess."

"Your dad is still alive, dipshit," Zell shot back, his words taking on a nasty tone.

"My grandparents aren't," Wakka replied softly. "Chappu and I used to live with them, not our actual parents. They were both pretty old, and we had to take care of them almost as much as they did us. Eventually my grandpa got sick and he was only bedridden for two weeks before he passed away. Grandma kind of lost her spark and died two months later from malnutrition. Chappu and me moved to our parents' house after that."

Zell still didn't look over at his attempted comforter. "It's not the same," he whispered, his head falling to between his knees.

"I didn't say it was," Wakka said quietly. "I'm just letting you know that I'm here for ya, okay? You're too emotional to handle this alone."

"Wakka, be quiet," Zell said, not bringing his head up.

"Okay, okay," Wakka said, lapsing into silence. He had one leg up on the block, his right arm draped over it, his other leg outstretched on the roof. He looked up into the night sky. Even in the middle of the city, the stars were prevalent. They twinkled luxuriously and almost seemed to dance around in that big void.

The two boys sat in silence for a few minutes, then Wakka noticed a noise. Soft sobs were coming from Zell, and his shoulders were slightly shaking.

"Hey, c'mon," Wakka said, turning his body. He placed his hands on Zell's quivering shoulders. "Let's go. You should rest some."

Zell didn't move, but he brought his head up out of his knees. Tears had already placed their mark on the young blonde's face. He finally looked over at Wakka, his eyes wide and sad.

Zell let his legs fall and he turned his torso towards Wakka. Wakka brought the younger boy in for a hug, where Zell closed his eyes and sniffled. They held that position for quite a while, until Zell finally broke it and settled back on the concrete block, gazing up at the stars.

"The nights are so beautiful here," Zell whispered.

Wakka nodded agreement, similarly staring up into the sky.

"What do you think those are?" Zell asked.

"What, the stars?" Wakka replied, not looking at his blonde friend.

"I don't think they're stars," Zell quipped. "I think that they're those who have left us, watching over us from Heaven."

Wakka didn't say anything; he didn't laugh. The two lapsed into silence again, staring up at the stars.

After another few moments, Zell said, "The sky is beautiful, the ocean is beautiful," he sighed. "Everything on this island is beautiful."

Wakka stifled a chuckle. Zell was getting sappy in his disturbed mindframe.

Zell poked Wakka in the shoulder, drawing the redhead's attention, and leaned in close. "_Everything_ on this island is beautiful."

Wakka found himself swimming in Zell's oceanic blue eyes. Words left him as Zell leaned in. Wakka found that he couldn't fight it – this had never happened to him before. Zell's eyes had taken control of the blitzball player's soul, jerked it around, and held onto it tightly. Wakka was frozen in place as Zell's lips touched his own. Despite his fleeting thoughts of Tidus, Wakka's eyes slowly closed as he let Zell kiss him. He forgot about the pang in his chest that he realized he had been feeling, and began to kiss Zell back. Lips opened and their tongues began to play. Wakka felt…well, he couldn't tell how he felt. He was confused, aroused, beaten, and accepting. One thing was sure: Zell was a damn good kisser. Almost as good as that other guy. What was his name? Oh. Right. Tidus. Yeah, Zell was as good a kisser as Tidus. Wakka's heart skipped a beat as they continued wrestling inside each other's mouth. Very nice. Wakka was enjoying being kissed by someone who was a better kisser than Tidus…

* * *

And the plot thickens! DUN DUN DUUUNNNNNNN! 

Again, sorry for the late update. School sucks, you know. The fact that my roommate is straight and I'm not makes it difficult to work on something like this often, too. I can't promise anything, but I can try to have the next chapter up soon enough. Thanks for sticking with me on this, everyone:'D RnR!


	5. Betrayal

I have decided to dedicate this chappie to two of my best reviewers, RavenMistress and squalmasy. This one's to you two, girls. :'D

* * *

Twilight Gaze

* * *

Chapter 5: Betrayal

* * *

Selphie laughed as Kairi tripped on the curb on her new inline skates. The two of them were on their way to Zell's house to pay their respects to the family for the loss of Zell's father Gerald. The girls didn't hold the same level of contempt towards Zell for his initial attitudes with the group – although his egotism against Tidus was rather unnecessary. Selph and Kairi were willing to give the kid a second chance, as long as he was willing to take it.

Selphie helped Kairi to her feet again and the two of them continued on their way to Zell's house. It was almost noon, and it was no surprise when they saw the Dinchts' lights were dim.

Selphie skated up to the front door of the Dinchts' house, followed somewhat clumsily by Kairi. Knocking on the door, Selphie readied herself for anyone or anything to open the door.

She wasn't expecting Wakka.

The redhead looked as if he hadn't had a wink of sleep all night, and his eyes were drooping far worse than the brunette had ever seen.

"Wakka, what are you doing here?" Selphie asked with wide eyes.

"I've been trying to help comfort Ma Dincht and Zell," the man replied. His eyes flashed to the right and saw Kairi trip as she tried to take off a skate. "Are you okay, Kairi?" he asked.

Kairi blushed as she looked up him in humility. "I, uh, got new skates."

Wakka raised an eyebrow weakly. "If you guys want to come in, come on," he said, opening the door wider. "Zell is in his room and Ma Dincht is asleep on the couch in the living room."

Selphie and Kairi entered the dark house and spread out to take a look around. The drapes on the windows were closed, the overhead lights were turned off, and there was a rather loud sobbing coming from the living room. The place looked like someone had died.

Oh, wait.

Wakka placed a muscular hand on Kairi's shoulder. "I'll be in with Zell," he said, letting go of her and turning down the hall.

Selphie looked over the back of the couch and saw Mrs. Dincht, asleep and sobbing. Tear stains were streaking her face and her face was red. Her hair was a mess and her dress was wrinkled from assorted sleeping positions from the constant tossing and turning.

"What a mess," Kairi whispered, her brow furrowed in worry for the Dinchts.

"Is there anything we can do?" Selphie asked.

Kairi shook her head. "About the only thing we can do now is to be here for them. There's not much else that we _can_ do."

Selphie sighed. "I guess you're right." She gently rubbed Mrs. Dincht's shoulder before turning towards the hallway where Wakka had gone. "I'm going to go see how Zell is doing."

Kairi nodded. "I'll stay out here with Mrs. Dincht."

Selphie walked down the hall and knocked lightly on the door that she had seen Wakka walk into. She waited a moment and turned the knob. She opened the door and peeked in, spying Zell with his head buried under a pillow and Wakka sitting on the edge of his bed next to him, his face full of worry.

Wakka noticed Selphie as she entered and he was stark silent as she closed the door. His gaze returned to Zell and a strong hand went out and began to rub the blonde's back in a comforting fashion. Selphie hated seeing Wakka like this – he was really worried for Zell.

Zell said something that was really garbled from underneath the pillow. Wakka leaned close and asked him to repeat it. Zell did, and it was even more incomprehensible to Selphie, but Wakka seemed to have understood. He sat up straight and looked over at Selphie. "How's Ma?" he asked her.

"She's asleep on the couch," Selphie replied, walking over to the foot of Zell's bed. On the way, she had to step carefully over a tipped over T-board and a basketball. She went to lean on the bedpost at the foot of the bed, but balked when she noticed a pair of boxers strewn over it. She decided not to lean on anything.

Zell made a noise that Selphie was pretty sure was, "Still?"

Selphie nodded sadly. "I don't know how long she's been there like that, but Kairi's still in the living room with her, in case anything happens."

Zell's pillow slid off of his hair as he sat up. The large spike in the front was down in his eyes – it didn't look very nice that way, and Selphie could see why he kept it up all the time. "Thanks," he said, his eyes swollen and his face forlorn.

"Hey, it's no problem," Selphie said with a sad smile. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Zell looked up at her and gave her a weak smile that wasn't entirely sad. "Friends?"

Selphie kind of chuckled and rubbed her shoulder, blushing. "I figure everyone needs a friend. Sorry we were so hard on you, Zell."

Wakka's mouth dropped open as he stared at the little brunette girl. He shut his trap and looked over at Zell. "Dude, you're lucky. Selphie doesn't apologize for being annoying or mean, eh?"

Selphie huffed and planted her fists on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded. "I'm not usually mean! We treated you a little unfairly, that's all," she added to Zell. "You forgive us?"

Zell's smile broadened, but his eyes continued to force it to remain weak-spirited. "Yeah, I forgive you guys. I know what it's like to be around the new guy and get the impression that he's a real jackass."

Selphie grinned, almost completely oblivious to the dreary circumstances that were around her. Zell noticed how cheery she was, and it seemed to bring him up as well.

"Thanks, you guys," Zell said sheepishly, giving Wakka a clumsy smile. "I think I'll be okay."

Selphie grinned again and turned towards the door. "You'll be all right," she said. "'Time heals all wounds,' right?"

Zell nodded, his smile persisting. "I guess."

"That's great. I'll be heading out to see how Kairi's doing with Mrs. Dincht," Selphie said. "You two going to be all right in here?" she asked.

Wakka sent Zell a questioning look, but Zell didn't see it. He nodded, his smile gone. "Yeah, we'll be okay."

"Good," Selphie piped. She opened the bedroom door and stepped outside, closing it behind her.

When Selphie arrived back in the living room, the first thing that she noticed was that Mrs. Dincht was awake and in the kitchen, busy at the stove.

"What happened to the sobbing mass of mother that was on the couch just a sec ago?" Selphie whispered to Kairi.

"She woke up, saw me, and promptly began to freak out about how bad her hospitality was for not having something for me to eat," Kairi replied with an amused smile. She was watching Mrs. Dincht dash around the kitchen in the preparations of a meal for the guests. "I think she needed the company."

"I think so, too," Selphie said with a giggle.

"How's Zell?" Kairi asked, not looking at Selphie.

"I think he'll be okay," Selphie said. "I…I apologized on everyone's behalf for everything that we'd put him through."

Kairi's eyes shifted instantly to look Selphie in the face. "You…you did what? You apologized? _You_?"

Selphie huffed again. "What? Can't a girl be sorry? Jeez."

"That's not what I meant," Kairi said with a laugh.

"Kairi, dear," Ma Dincht called from the kitchen, "please go tell Zell and Wakka that dinner will be on soon."

Kairi nodded with a smile. "Of course, Ma." She turned and headed down the hall, following Selphie's trail, finally coming to Zell's door.

"Hey, Zell, Wakka," Kairi said, turning the doorknob and opening it. "Ma Dincht said-" Kairi froze, her eyes wide in shock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Zell's face was mere inches from Wakka's, as if they had been whispering to each other. That, however, wasn't what Kairi was so shocked to see.

Zell's hand was wrapped tightly around something that Kairi knew to be part of human anatomy that women didn't have, which meant that Wakka didn't have pants on. For some reason, this didn't register with Kairi. All she could see was Zell's hand clasping Wakka's manhood.

"Kairi," Wakka whispered, his eyes the size of dinner plates.

"Hey, Kairi, what's going on?" Selphie called. Footsteps were heard coming down the hallway. "Why aren't you back ye-" Selphie's eyes, if possible, were larger than Wakka's.

"What the hell…?" Selphie blurted.

Kairi backed out of the door and turned down the hall, her eyes still wide and her face pale. Entering the living room, she turned strictly towards the door and exited the domicile.

"Who just left without saying goodbye?" Ma Dincht called from the kitchen, sticking her head out into the living room.

Selphie came dashing down the hall and headed for the front door, after Kairi. "Sorry, Mrs. Dincht, but Kairi and I just remembered that we have somewhere to be. Sorry we can't stay for dinner," she added with a bow. The brunette turned and headed out the door behind her friend, leaving Ma Dincht in the kitchen, alone again. The sniffles were already beginning to resurface.

* * *

The next day, Kairi and Selphie were at the dock, where they had told Wakka to meet them. The redhead was dreading the encounter – he was expecting a lot of "how could you do that to poor Tidus" and "you should be ashamed of yourself." Wakka sighed as he saw the boathouse with two female figures standing outside it. He started down the hill, but he didn't get the chance before the two of them started running up the hill towards him.

"Wakka, we need to talk," Selphie said urgently, poking the redhead in the shoulder.

"I know," Wakka murmured. He made a face. "Just slap me and get it over with, eh?"

"Slap you?" Selphie repeated. "Why would I do that?"

"For cheating on Tidus," Wakka replied, looking at her with one eye shut tight.

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Oh, that? Yeah. We needed to talk to you about that, too."

Wakka's other eye opened. "What? What happened? That's not what you called me down here for?"

Kairi shook her head. Wakka then noticed that tears were streaming down her face and her eyes were swollen from crying. She looked amazingly like Zell had the day before.

"What's the matter?" Wakka asked his younger friend.

"Something's wrong with Chappu," Kairi said with a sniff.

Wakka's brow furrowed. "What's wrong with Chappu?"

Kairi opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She looked to Selphie for help. Selphie nodded and stepped up.

"Kairi caught Chappu looking at gay porn," she said simply.

Wakka felt a surge of adrenaline. So the cat was out of the bag.

"He's not gay, is he, Wakka?" Kairi asked, her eyes begging him to say no.

"He isn't gay, Kairi," Wakka replied, his head hung low. "He told me that he was bi. He loves you, and he'd never want to hurt you. But he also likes guys. Sorry."

Kairi's eyes teared up again and she collapsed into sobs. Selphie crouched beside her friend and placed her hands on her shoulders in comfort.

"Kairi, I know he wouldn't want you to be hurt by it," Wakka reminded her. "It's just a little detail. He loves you, you know."

Kairi stopped sobbing. "He…he hasn't told me that in weeks."

Wakka's brow furrowed. "Wha?"

Kairi sniffed. "He hasn't told me he loved me in almost two weeks. He used to say it three times a day or more. He's become pretty distant to me lately." She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Wakka's narrow waist. "Please, Wakka, tell me this is a horrible dream…"

Wakka put his arms around Kairi in a brotherly hug and didn't say anything.

"Please," Kairi said, her voice collapsing into sobs on Wakka's chest.

Selphie just looked at her friend, her eyes tearing up. She hated seeing Kairi like this. No one on the island liked seeing Kairi like this. But what could she do? This wasn't her problem, and it wasn't Wakka's. Kairi and Chappu needed to deal with it on their own – otherwise, nothing would come of it. Selphie turned and looked out over the ocean, towards the island that the youth played on. She sighed. _We're not little kids anymore, it seems._ Tears crowded Selphie's eyes again and she wiped them away. _Time's betrayed us. We're all grown up now. We don't have time for the little things. What's going to happen to us? I mean…Kairi and I are the only straight kids on the island that we know of. Where does that leave us?_

"Selphie? Something wrong?" Wakka asked, still holding a quietly sobbing Kairi.

Selphie sighed and shook her head, wiping her tears from her eyes again before turning to face her friends. "No. Just thinking, that's all." She put a hand on Kairi's shoulder. "C'mon, Kairi, let's get you home. You need some time to think." She took Kairi away from Wakka and started leading her up the hill towards their houses, leaving Wakka alone on the dock.

Wakka turned and looked out at Destiny Island. _It seemed so long ago that we played there,_ the redhead thought to himself before sighing, shaking his head, and turning back up the hill.

_I wonder what's going to happen now.

* * *

_

Phew. Sorry for the late update AGAIN. But you know what? Thanksgiving no school for me LOTS OF TIME TO WRITE :D So….expect at least one more chappie of this story up sometime in the next week.

Tig OUT!


	6. Revelation

OMG a warning! This chappie contains LEMONY GOODNESS, so if you're offended, I suggest reading the first segment and skipping the Sora/Riku section.

.oOo.

Twilight Gaze

.oOo.

Chapter 6: Revelation

.oOo.

Chappu stepped inside the house, took off his raincoat, and hung it up on the coat rack next to the front door. He shook out his umbrella and shivered as the air conditioning hit his skin. He took the umbrella to the bathroom, where he put it in the sink to dry, and headed down the hallway to his bedroom. When he reached his bedroom door, he noticed that the door was cracked. Chappu blinked in surprise – he never left his room open and no one ever went in there. Everyone respected everyone else's privacy in this house.

Chappu opened the door and looked inside. Sitting on his bed and looking at a framed picture was Chappu's older brother Wakka. He was completely silent, and didn't say anything or even look up from the picture when Chappu went into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Wakka? What're you doing in here?" Chappu asked.

Wakka didn't respond. He just continued to stare at the picture in his hands. Chappu became curious and rounded around his brother's backside and peered over his shoulder. Staring back at him was a group of seven kids, the older couldn't have been more than sixteen, joking around on a sandy beach near a shack overlooking the ocean. It was Chappu and the others on the beach of Destiny Island right after the Jecht fiasco. You could tell because Riku's arm was around Sora's waist and Wakka's hand was down the back of Tidus' shorts. Chappu had to stifle a laugh when he looked at that.

It was funny looking at that picture, especially Chappu, who hadn't started playing with the others until directly after the Jecht problem. The others had kind of accepted him into their group after he had helped Tidus move into his second home. Chappu saw himself with a huge grin on his face, caught in a headlock from Selphie, but his eyes were elsewhere. Kairi was glomping Riku around the neck, and it was to her that Chappu's eyes were glued. Even those years ago, Chappu had liked Kairi, and he was sure that she'd known.

"It's us," Chappu said finally, breaking the stark silence in the room.

Wakka nodded.

"What's going on, Wakka?" Chappu asked.

"I'm just kind of worried about us growing up, I guess," Wakka replied, his eyes still locked on the picture.

"Well, y'know we're gonna get old no matter if we like it or not, right?" Chappu replied, placing his hands on his hips.

Wakka nodded again. "Yeah, I know."

"Then why are you worrying?" Chappu asked, rounding the foot of his bed to face his brother.

Wakka finally looked away from the picture and Chappu noticed that his eyes were glistening. This kind of surprised Chappu – Wakka hardly ever cried. The last time that Chappu had seen Wakka cry was…

Tidus' moving into their house.

"What's the big deal?" Chappu asked, becoming genuinely worried for his elder sibling.

"Kairi knows," Wakka blurted, sending a sharp, cold twinge through Chappu's chest and the back of his neck.

"What?" the younger boy cried, his eyes wide.

"Kairi and Selphie caught me today at the dock and told me that she caught you looking at something. She…" Wakka broke off for a moment, not looking at Chappu. "She begged me to tell me that it wasn't true."

Chappu raised an eyebrow. "And you told her it was?"

Wakka didn't say anything, and then nodded. "Sorry, bro."

The pang in his chest didn't reside, but Chappu nodded, much more stable than he felt. "No problem."

Wakka looked up at his younger brother, confused. "Eh?"

"Not a problem," Chappu said with a casual shrug. "I'll just have to love her from afar."

"You seem really okay with this," Wakka muttered, his eyebrow raised.

"It's not like I cheated on her or anything, so I have nothing to be ashamed about," Chappu said with another shrug. "It could be worse, ya?"

Wakka didn't reply. His brother looked over at him and his eyes widened. Wakka was pale and his eyes were wide.

"Wakka?" Chappu reached over and shook his brother's shoulder. "Wakka, what's up?" When his older brother didn't respond again, Chappu blinked and took a deep breath. He reared back his right arm and gave Wakka's left cheek a good slap. Wakka shook his head and he looked over at Chappu.

"What was that for, eh?"

"You zoned out," the younger boy answered. "What's up? You look like you saw a ghost."

Wakka shook his head, his face still pale. "Never you mind, eh? You need to worry about you and Kairi. I have my own problems I need to deal with." Wakka got up from Chappu's bed and handed him the picture after taking one last look at it. He left the bedroom, leaving Chappu on his bed with the framed image.

Chappu looked down and noticed that, looking at the picture reflecting light from the window, there was a smudged tear on Tidus' face. Chappu looked at the image for a while before placing it back on the nightstand where it had been before. It's funny how one doesn't analyze a picture they see every day until someone else is holding it. Chappu returned to his bed and lay down, staring up at the blank ceiling and pondering what he would do about his own situation with Kairi. His mind did wander, however, to what could have made Wakka so pale. What happened? The last thing that was said was that at least Chappu hadn't cheated on Kairi…

Uh-oh.

Oo.oO

The water surged forward and lifted Tidus into the air as he stood up on his board. Throwing his arms out for balance, Tidus turned the surfboard to the left and sliced through the water down the wave. The teen surfed up a storm before becoming one with the water's surface only about twenty feet from shore. When his body hit the surface, Riku and Sora cringed at the same time, both with smiles on their faces. Tidus was the biggest surfer of anyone on the island – he was the best. It was funny to see him wipe out like he did every time he got on the board.

Tidus came up onto the beach and walked over to his friends with a huge grin on his face, hoisting his surfboard along.

"Did you guys see that one?" Tidus asked. "I didn't do too bad before I wiped out that time."

"Impressive, definitely," Riku said, running a hand through his silverfish hair. The boy's blue eyes found Sora's and the two of them laughed on the inside again.

Sora turned away from the others and noticed a boat rowing out to the island. "I think it's Chappu," the brunette reported. "I'll go meet him." Sora took off at a sandy jog towards the dock.

"His ass bounces so nicely when he runs," Riku said, tilting his head and watching his boyfriend jog away.

"Not as nice as Wakka's," Tidus replied, his eyes also on Sora's butt.

"That's a given," Riku laughed. "You have the hottest boyfriend on the island."

"Don't I know it!" Tidus was laughing out loud now.

Riku looked down and noticed the effects of water on Tidus' bathing suit. "Looks like Wakka's pretty lucky, too," Riku commented with a sly grin.

Tidus made a funny face and elbowed Riku in the ribs. "I'm going to go dry off in the shack," the younger teen said, lifting his surfboard again and heading towards the shack that overlooked the beach.

Riku laughed to himself before he noticed Sora and Chappu walking up to him along the beach. "What's up, Chappu?" Riku asked.

"I think I know something I don't think I'm supposed to know," Chappu replied, his face serious. "Since you two are the only other gay guys on the island that Wakka knows, I'm going to question you two."

Sora's eyes went wide and Riku raised an eyebrow. "What's this about, Chappu?" Riku demanded.

"Wakka gave me clues pointing to the idea of him cheating on Tidus," Chappu explained. "I want to know which one of you it was."

Sora's wide eyes got even wider and Riku's other eyebrow raised, matching the first. "You think that one of us was cheating on the other with Wakka?" Riku repeated. "You're insane. I love Sora. I would never do that."

"Yeah," Sora added. "Wakka's hot, but I'd never do anything with him as long as I'm with Riku. I love him way too much."

Chappu buried his face in his hands. "Okay, then who was it? Do we know of any other gay guys?"

Riku looked over at Sora. "This is your department."

Sora thought for a moment. Chappu looked at Riku, a bit confused, and Riku explained. "Sora's developed kind of a 'gaydar' that lets him know if a guy is gay or not. If anyone else on the island is gay, Sora would know it."

"Well?" Chappu demanded.

Sora shook his head. "I don't know of anyone but us."

Chappu turned out toward the mainland and sighed. He flopped down onto the beach and gave a great sigh. "I just want to figure out who Wakka is cheating with."

"Who Wakka is _what?_"

Chappu turned around and the color drained from his face. Tidus stood over him, his eyes wide. His blonde hair was immensely unkempt from the random drying it had survived – Chappu thought it was cute on the blonde.

"Tidus, wait," Chappu said, standing to his feet. "I can explain."

Tidus was staring at Chappu with pure hatred, his face red and his eyes tearing up. "Wakka would _never_ cheat! He's a good guy! Why would you lie like that?" Tidus turned and shot toward the dock, tears falling through the air behind him.

"Nice move," Sora muttered as Chappu turned on his heel and started after the blonde.

Chappu caught up to Tidus at the dock. "Tidus, wait!" Chappu cried.

Tidus was already in his boat, but he stood straight up and turned to face the redhead, the one that he had come to know as his little brother. "Get the hell away from me, Chappu. I don't want to hear any of your lies."

"I didn't want you to find out," Chappu said. "I was going to try to get Wakka to stop before you found out. I don't think he knows that I know. You can't go to him yet – he'll be angry at me."

"Whose fault is that?" Tidus screamed. "You're the one getting involved in the business of others. You don't want Wakka to be mad at you? You shouldn't have even found out!" Tidus turned and sat down hard in his boat. He picked up his oars and started rowing toward the dock on the mainland.

"Tidus!" Chappu cried after him. "Just don't do anything stupid!"

"Fuck off!" Tidus screamed back at him. Chappu felt something sharp go shooting through his chest. He stood on the dock, stupefied. What had he done?

Oo.oO

Wakka put the last flower on the decoration that he was going to give Tidus. The redhead had spent the afternoon after the episode with Chappu making a craft that he thought Tidus would like. He was sitting in his bedroom on his bed as he worked. It was finally finished. He pulled it away from him and admired it longingly. He hoped that Tidus would like it. The Blitzball player stood up and took the little decoration to his closet, where he hid it from view. He wanted it to be a surprise.

Just then, Wakka heard the front door close rather forcefully outside his room. He shrugged it off, suspecting it to be his father, who tended to come home in a somewhat anxious mood from work. It was getting into the evening hours, so he wasn't surprised that someone would be slamming doors around there.

The redhead heard a knock at his door and it cracked open. Tidus stepped through, his hair a wild mess from the drying he had put it through after his surfing session. Wakka found it a huge turn on.

"Hey, babe," Wakka said with a smile. Tidus didn't return it at Wakka's smile vanished. Tidus was staring holes through the older teen, and it was as if the blonde's soul had been sapped from him through his pupils.

"What's wrong, Tidus?" Wakka asked, his face taking on a look of concern.

Tidus didn't say anything. Instead, he walked over to Wakka's bed and picked up a picture of himself with Wakka. Looking at it, Tidus just stared. Finally, Wakka heard his lover say in a very mild tone, "How could you?"

Wakka's heart sank. How could he…Wakka shook his head, fear running through his eyes. "No way, Tidus, stop right now."

"Who was it?" Tidus asked, still refusing to look at his boyfriend.

"It doesn't matter," Wakka cried. "It was a mistake, it'll never happen again. There was nothing. He was depressed."

Tidus's eyes shot open. He finally looked over at Wakka with realization in his eyes. "It was _him_, wasn't it?"

Wakka's heart attempted to sink again, but found that it couldn't because of the boy's stomach being in the way. After a moment of hesitation, Tidus looked back at the picture and sighed.

"Guess it was only so long until it happened," Tidus muttered. "He is a lot better-looking than me."

"No he isn't," Wakka argued. "That tattoo on his face is kind of ugly, ya?"

Tidus looked over at Wakka. Wakka was expecting some hate-filled comeback. Instead, Tidus's gaze was filled with the worst possible emotion: hurt. He was in pain, and it was Wakka's fault.

"Just drop it," Tidus said, placing the picture back on the nightstand. He turned to the door. "I'll pack my stuff and be out of your way."

Wakka did a double-take. What? "What're ya talkin' about?" Wakka demanded.

"I'm going to get out of your way so that you can be with Zell," Tidus shot back angrily. "It's what you want, isn't it?"

"No way!" Wakka cried. "I want you, not him."

Tidus looked at Wakka's feet in sorrow. "I wish I could believe you, Wakka. I really do," he turned to head out the door again.

"Wait, Tidus!" Wakka cried. He opened his closet door and brought out the flower-covered decoration and handed it to Tidus. "I made this for you. Watch the glue, it's still wet, ya?"

Wakka wasn't lying – the glue was still a little damp. He looked at the little trinket. It was a small wreath picture frame made of argentia flowers, which were native to Destiny Island. They were small, five-petal flowers that came in a variety of colors, although most were a warm orange or yellow color. In the middle was the picture of everyone together. Tidus's eyes watered when he saw how happy he and Wakka were back then. He tossed it back to Wakka, who didn't catch it – it fell to the floor, landing on the redhead's left foot.

"It's lovely, Wakka," Tidus said sadly. "But it doesn't change my mind." The blonde turned and left the room, leaving Wakka standing in the middle of the room, completely alone.

Oo.oO

The stars twinkled brightly out on Destiny Island as Sora and Riku sat staring up at the night sky that night. Riku's arm was wrapped loosely around Sora's shoulder and Sora's arm was around Riku's waist.

"I love the night sky," Sora sighed.

"I know," Riku replied. "It's pretty cool, isn't it?"

Sora nodded and leaned his head back more to look straight overhead. "I think I see a constellation," he chuckled, pointing almost straight up.

"You know pointing at the stars doesn't help show anything to people," Riku laughed, leaning his head back. After a moment, he said, "Yep, that's a constellation. Looks like Leo."

Sora sighed dreamily. The night sky was so beautiful to him – it was under the stars that Sora and Riku first made love, two years ago. It was a glorious moment, and Sora had fond memories of that night every time the two of them sat underneath the stars together.

Riku looked back down and looked over at Sora, noticing his "remembrance" of their first night together. "Again with the memories?" Riku laughed, pointing to Sora's arousal.

Sora laughed and nodded. "I guess so. That night was just so great. I love remembering it over and over."

Riku leaned in close and gave his brunette lover a gentle kiss. "I love that, too," he said, millimeters away from Sora's lips, "but I love reliving it even more."

Sora smiled, but his smile was broken by Riku's invading lips. The two of them caressed each other's hair while they shared a very intimate kiss. It lasted for a minute or so before Riku pulled away and undid his straps. The two helped the silver-haired boy remove his shirt, followed by Sora's own. Shirtless, the two rolled around on top of each other, smothering each other in the sand with kisses and sensual caresses. Sora reached down and undid his pants, sliding everything off fluidly, revealing his obvious excitement by their actions. Riku raised an eyebrow and grinned, removing his own trousers just as smoothly. The two continued to roll around until They stopped, slightly winded, with Riku's hands placed on either side of Sora's shoulders on the ground.

The silver-haired boy looked longingly down at his brunette lover, his eyes filled with passion and love. Sora blushed and grinned back at Riku a bit sheepishly before pulling the slightly older boy down for another kiss. They felt their members rub together, sending a shock of pleasure through both of them.

Riku moved his head down to Sora's chest and began to lick at Sora's nipples, turning to gnawing on them playfully in turn. Sora moaned in pleasure and began to push Riku lower, but the silver-haired boy didn't respond to the shoves. Instead, he went harder at Sora's chest, issuing more and louder moans from his younger man. This torture continued for five minutes before Sora's nipples were pretty red from the attention. Riku then decided to finally give in to Sora's demanding pushes, moving even farther down. Riku gave Sora's belly button a flurry of soft kisses. He continued to do this while his hands went elsewhere, digging into his pile of clothing for a vital component of their relationship.

Sora could hear the tube being squeezed and his arousal heightened even more in expectation. Riku's kisses continued until Sora saw his lover's face once more. Sora looked up at him pleadingly, a bit of sand on the left side of his face from turning his head during the moans. Riku chuckled and Sora felt something down south begin to prod at him. Sora's eyes widened and sparkled and the brunette gave his lover a wide grin.

As the next half-hour went on, Riku's impressive endowment made Sora moan louder and louder, until Riku was sure that someone on the mainland had heard them. Fifteen minutes after they'd started, Riku felt himself release inside his lover, and Sora released directly afterwards, all over himself. Riku withdrew and cuddled up next to his brunette. The two of them gazed up at the twilight overhead before getting up and diving into the ocean to wash off. They would stay in the treehouse that night – there was no going back to the mainland for them that particular evening, and they both knew it.

Sora was smiling when the two of them curled up to sleep. So many memories, always so similar, yet always so very different…

Oo.oO

Tears fell down Tidus's cheek as he watched Riku and Sora make love from afar. The blonde wondered if he'd ever get to do that again. He wasn't sure who was who anymore. When the two down on the island jumped into the ocean, Tidus sighed and gazed up into the stars. A shooting star crossed his field of vision. Tidus blinked and decided that he'd return to his childhood and make a wish.

_Twilight Gaze, There you are_

_A wish I make, of the stars,_

_I throw my wish_

_So very far_

_My dreams become those of a star_

Tidus contemplated his wish.

_Send me someone who will share an unbreakable bond of love with me, forever._

.oOo.

And that, my dears, is my first lemon. O.o Intermesting, no? Sorry if it isn't all that good – there was a lot of story progression in this one and I thought it'd be nice to give it a break while still furthering it a little. Please RnR!


	7. Retribution

Disclaimer, yada yada.

I'm about nutso at school. Sorry for a late update.

* * *

Twilight Gaze

* * *

Chapter 7 – Retribution

* * *

Over the next week or so, Tidus didn't speak to anyone about anything other than the weather. He couldn't bring himself to accidentally get involved in a conversation that he would regret. He avoided anyone whenever possible, but sometimes contact with people was inevitable, such as the annual community barbeque.

Assembled this year in Selphie's backyard, the parents and neighbors of the area gathered together, drinking cocktails and chatting hastily while Kairi's father, Selphie's dad, and Jecht smoked ham, barbequed chicken and turkey, and deep fried catfish. Potato salad, hamburgers, cole slaw, and other things were spread out on the massive picnic table that Wakka's family had brought along. It was quite a spread, and things weren't necessarily about the food at these kinds of gatherings.

Wakka, of course, was the center of attention, having been one of the few people to have left Destiny Island to go off for higher learning. Zell and Mrs. Dincht, however, caused quite the uproar when they appeared with Mrs. Dincht's infamous barbequed Balamb fish. Everyone who was anyone has had a taste of that treat.

Kairi was off with Selphie, talking about how lovely Selphie's mother's roses were blooming this year. And it was true – Selphie's yard was filled with the fragrant aroma of blossoming red roses and barbeque. It was hard not to stop and appreciate the beauty that Selphie's mother had helped to cultivate here in her own yard.

Wakka and Zell were both being swarmed by people from all over the community with questions about college, Mr. Dincht, if they needed any help with anything, and many other things. The sight was sickening, and it looked like Wakka was about ready to kill the next person who asked him "ready to drop out yet?" Zell, likewise, looked almost ready to cry.

Tidus was sitting on the back porch with his knees drawn up to his chest with his chin buried between them. He was silently watching Wakka being bombarded by people, the entire time the blonde's eyes watering but refusing to let loose their pent up emotion.

"You okay over here?" Sora had asked Tidus at one point. Tidus had grunted his approval and turned his head away from the brunette, which was Sora's cue to leave him alone. He had done so, but not before staring at him in confusion, then in pity, before returning to Riku's side, over by the grilling parents.

Tidus' eyes found their way over to his father, working the catfish. It was odd. Wakka had told Tidus long ago that the kids had come up with a plan to get Jecht to let Tidus be himself at the annual barbeque. And here he was, free to be himself, Tidus, but afraid to do so in fear of being hurt again. Tidus buried his face in his legs again and groaned. He didn't want to be there.

After a little while, Tidus' ears picked up the sound of sneakers on the porch. Without lifting his head, he mumbled something incomprehensible into his knees, hoping that whoever it was would get the picture and leave him be.

There was a pause of silence, but Tidus knew that his watcher was still there, looking down on his sulking form. He finally lifted his head and looked over to whoever it was. He didn't know who he was expecting, but it hadn't been Chappu.

Chappu sat down next to Tidus on the porch and smiled unsurely at the blonde. "It's a nice night," he said lamely. He looked down at the grass of the backyard, well-cultivated and bright green, trying to figure out what to say.

"I though I told you that I never wanted to see you again," Tidus muttered, looking away from his visitor.

"You did," Chappu replied quietly, staring intensely at a blade of grass. That blade of grass was all that was keeping him from crying. "Listen, Tidus, I wanted to apologize."

"For what?" Tidus asked, still not looking at Chappu. "You didn't do anything. You were right. It wasn't your fault that Wakka did what he did."

Chappu almost choked. "I…"

"Don't try to apologize, Chappu, really," Tidus said, his face returning to stare at his knees, still drawn up to his chest. "It wasn't your fault. I guess I kind of owe you my gratitude."

Chappu couldn't figure out what to say. That wasn't exactly what he had expected the blonde to say. "Tidus, I don't deserve any thanks for what I did," he tried.

Tidus shook his head. "If you hadn't told me, I would have kept believing that Wakka was the right one. That's evidently not true – otherwise, it wouldn't have happened."

Chappu didn't know what to say. Just a week ago, Tidus refused to speak to Chappu, and here he was, thanking him. It was hard to digest. "Thanks, I guess," the redhead replied sheepishly.

Tidus loosened up a little after that. "Something smells good," he muttered.

"I'll bet it's your dad's fish," Chappu replied, surveying the scene. "He's the best cook of the three of them, you know."

"I know," Tidus said dully.

Night was setting in, and the stars were starting to dot the sky. Tidus' chin was rested on his knees again when he looked over and saw Chappu lean back onto his palms, looking up at the sky.

"The stars are pretty tonight," Chappu said in a sigh.

Tidus didn't look up. His eyes were stuck on Chappu. The boy's features seemed perfect, outlined by the night sky. His red hair was spiked up in front, held up by hair gel and the bandana that wrapped around his head. He and Wakka shared their infatuation of headbands, and Tidus had always thought that it was cute. Chappu's nose was straighter than Wakka's, but his chin more profound, and his eyes were larger, which was good, because that meant that the stars had more room to twinkle. Tidus' eyes wandered down to the redhead's arms, which were strong and sturdy. Wakka's may have been bulky, but Chappu's were lean and healthy-looking. His chest wasn't as profound as Wakka's, but it wasn't by any means small. He was definitely his brother's blood.

Suddenly, Tidus found Chappu looking back at him with a warm smile. That smile was divine. Much cuter than Wakka's. It morphed his face in such a way that made Tidus' heart leap.

…What was happening?

Still looking at Chappu, Tidus smiled weakly.

"Did anyone ever tell you," Chappu started slowly, "that you have wonderful eyes, Tidus?"

Tidus' eyes widened in surprise. Did…did Chappu just hit on him?

Tidus looked up at the stars without saying anything. He could feel Chappu's eyes on him, but the redhead soon turned his gaze away from the blonde, looking up at the sky as well.

The two of them sat there in complete silence, staring up at the night sky, admiring the stars. Somewhere else, Tidus knew that Wakka could see them.

But he didn't care.

Chappu was enjoying himself. He'd never felt quite this close to anyone before. It wasn't until he felt the warmth of Tidus' hand covering his own that Chappu's smile vanished and his heart quickened. The world was perfect, but something was nagging at him. It took him a moment to figure out what it was, but when he realized what was bothering him, it hit him like a blitzball to the face.

Wakka was watching them from across the yard, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. He was standing next to Sora and Riku, who were holding hands and chatting with Kairi. Wakka didn't seem all that interested in what was being said. Instead, he seemed more intent on staring Chappu down. The younger brother's ears began to burn as his face turned red. His eyes were locked on Wakka's, and even across the entire back yard, Chappu could feel the intense flames surging from within his elder brother.

Tidus was still looking up at the stars, unaware that Chappu had noticed Wakka. Suddenly the redhead's hand slipped out from under his, and Tidus looked down at him. Chappu's face was beet red and he had his arms wrapped tightly around his drawn up knees, rocking back and forth slightly. His eyes were wide and staring down at the grass again. Tidus gave him a concerned look, but Chappu didn't see it – he was too busy trying to ignore Wakka.

Tidus looked up at Wakka and scowled. Wakka's face was harsh and demeaning, but when he saw Tidus look up at him, the tough exterior melted away and utter sadness replaced it. He turned back to the others in a sulk, said something, and headed to another side of the yard, where he braced himself against a tall wooden fence and crossed his arms, his head lowered and his eyes closed in thought.

Tidus shook his head as the scowl vanished. He looked over at Chappu and realized just how much Wakka's stare had scared the young man. His face was pale and he was beginning to sweat cold beads.

"Chappu, are you okay?" Tidus asked. He reached up and gingerly touched the redhead's shoulder. Chappu jerked away and leapt to his feet. He rushed inside the house, leaving one very confused Tidus staring after him.

"Is he okay?"

Tidus turned around and saw Zell standing about eight feet in front of the porch, his hands in his pockets and his head lowered slightly, looking up at Tidus as if to say, "don't hurt me."

Tidus sighed. It was odd how he didn't feel like yelling at Zell. "Wakka gave him a scare, that's all."

Zell looked over at Wakka momentarily and returned his gaze to Tidus. "Tidus, I-"

"Save it," Tidus interrupted, looking away from the blonde.

"But I didn't mean to-"

"I said save it, don't you understand English?" Tidus barked, his face turning hot and his eyes narrowing as he turned to face the newcomer.

Zell's head lowered and he stared at the ground for a moment. One leg was crossed in front of the other so he was balancing on one foot and the toe of the other. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He turned away from Tidus and slunk back to his mother's side. He continued to look as if he was about to cry, but this time no one was speaking to him at all.

Tidus kind of felt bad for acting like that. He hated hurting people's feelings, and even though Zell had ruined his relationship with Wakka, Tidus didn't feel that it was his right to treat him that way.

Zell was sitting on the picnic table, staring at the grass. When two sneakers appeared in his field of vision, familiar sneakers, Zell's head snapped up and he started blabbing.

"Tidus, I, I, uh, don't, I mean-"

"Shut up and listen," Tidus interrupted, not letting the incoherency get to him. He sat down next to Zell and looked over at him. Zell wasn't looking directly at Tidus, but his eyes were locked onto him. He looked almost scared.

"I don't hate you for what you did," Tidus said. "I guess I kind of owe you a thanks, like I did Chappu."

Zell's eyes widened as he turned his head to look at the other blonde. What was that? He couldn't have heard that right.

"Sure," Tidus said, reading Zell's expression and shrugging. "If you hadn't come along, I would have thought that Wakka was _the one _for the rest of my life, until he hurt me with a total stranger or something like that. So yeah, thanks for showing me that he isn't for me."

Zell was utterly speechless.

"I just have one question," Tidus added.

Zell just stared. He'd answer _anything_ Tidus wanted to know.

"Whose idea was it?" Tidus asked, looking directly at Zell.

Zell's heart skipped a beat. Crap. Sheepishly, Zell replied, "Promise you won't be angry with whoever it was?" he asked.

Tidus didn't answer.

Zell sighed and nodded. Of course he couldn't promise that. He looked back at Tidus and pleaded with his eyes before saying, "It was Wakka's idea." Tidus' gaze shot to Wakka, who hadn't moved from the fence, and hadn't seemed to have noticed that his ex-boyfriend was talking with his playmate. "He was trying to cheer me up," Zell explained. "I don't know what he intended, but nothing happened, Tidus. I swear."

Tidus didn't look back at Zell. His eyes were fixed on Wakka. "So I've heard."

Zell shook his head. More than likely, Tidus wasn't going to listen to much more. He stood up and walked over to his mother. After a moment of shocked gasps from Ma Dincht, Zell nodded and walked back to Tidus.

"We're leaving."

Tidus closed his eyes and looked up at Zell. "You don't have to leave. I'm not mad at you."

Zell shivered. "That's not the point. Things are a bit…tense. Why don't you try talking to Wakka?"

Tidus shook his head. "I'm not interested in him anymore."

Zell's face morphed into something not unlike a worried expression. "What?" he blurted.

"It's okay," Tidus said, standing up and looking over at Wakka. "I'm over it. I'm moving on."

Zell scratched the back of his head and looked over at Wakka, who still hadn't moved. After a moment of silence, he looked back at Tidus. "Well, we're still heading out. Ma has to be somewhere tomorrow morning. I guess I'll talk to you later, then?" he asked timidly.

Tidus nodded but still didn't look at Zell.

Zell nodded knowingly and headed for the back door. As he reached the back porch, Zell heard Tidus behind him. "If you see Chappu on your way through the house, let him know that I said that Wakka isn't important."

Zell didn't know what he meant, but he would do so. He entered the house and made his way to the front door. He heard quiet sobs coming from the living room. He peered inside and saw Chappu in absolute tears on the couch. He thought about going to see if there was anything he could do, but he decided against it. He'd already made a mess of things.

"Chappu?"

Chappu stopped sobbing with a small hiccup and looked over at Zell. His eyes were swollen and red and his hair was messed up. He didn't say anything – he just stared at Zell, waiting. He sniffed a few times while waiting.

Zell rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Tidus said that it's okay. He said Wakka isn't important."

Chappu didn't say anything. Even the sniffing stopped. He just continued to stare at Zell.

Zell felt really bad now. Did he mess that up too? He backed towards the door, keeping eye contact with Chappu. When he reached the door, he opened it and said, "Sorry" before closing it, leaving Chappu alone on the couch.

Zell walked out into the street and stood there, staring up into the sky. The stars were beautiful. He thought that he could see a constellation that looked kind of like Wakka. He lowered his head and shook it in annoyance. What a thought, thinking constellations could resemble people. He looked up again and saw the same constellation staring down at him. A cold shiver ran up the blonde's spine before he turned down the street to head home.

_Made a mess of things, haven't you?_ Zell scolded himself. No, that wasn't going to work. Punishing himself now would do no good. Wakka's silence, Tidus' gratitude, and Chappu's tears were enough to make anyone wish that they could just crawl under a rock.

When Zell reached his house, he stepped up onto his front porch and looked back down the street. He could still see Selphie's house from his porch, but instead of a house, he saw Chappu crying on the couch. He saw Tidus on the back porch, and he saw Wakka leaning against the fence. None of them were saying anything. Instead, the visions were taunting him. They were teasing him.

He felt like shit.

Zell turned to the front door and turned the doorknob, allowing himself into the only solitude he could find on the island: his house. Unfortunately, with that solitude came the ultimate punishment: his conscience.

* * *

O.o

Wow, I've had this unfinished for nearly three whole months. Yeah, sorry about the delayed update. I am z0MG busy at school. A single review got me interested in continuing this story. Amazing what one review will do! Thanks, 'Nuo!


	8. Gifts

Whee!

Sorry about this story's progression schedule. I hate having other things interrupt creative thought processes.

This chapter has a lemony good taste to it. Please don't read the second half if this offends you.

-

Twilight Gaze

-

8: Gifts

-

"Uwaaaa!"

Selphie toppled over and slammed her knee hard onto the ground in the attempt to break her fall. She cried out in pain and gripped her leg as she rolled around for a moment. Kairi was on her in no time, trying to calm her down and straighten out her leg, but the brunette just wouldn't cooperate.

"Don't make me call Wakka!" Kairi threatened.

Selphie stopped screaming, but still hugged her leg close to her chest. She was exposing her panties to the entire street, had anyone been around to look. Kairi blushed and felt her anger levels rising. She was being childish!

"You didn't break it, now let it go," Kairi demanded. Selphie finally conceded and let go of her injured knee.

"Don't call Wakka," Selphie whispered, tears in her eyes. She was pleaded with Kairi now.

Kairi sighed and rolled her eyes. "Like I would. Now stand up. You're acting like a three year old."

Selphie slowly made her way to her feet, wincing as she put weight on the hurt knee, but it quickly subsided and she was standing firmly on both feet in front of her friend. "Thanks," she said timidly.

Kairi shrugged and looked down at Selphie's feet. They were in her new roller blades that her mother had given her for her birthday a month ago. Kairi had always liked those particular skates, but Selphie had never worn them. This had been her first time, and by the way that Selphie was glaring down at them, Kairi had a feeling that it would be the last.

"Do you think you can make it to Zell's house?" Kairi asked.

Selphie sniffed once and nodded. "I think I'll be okay. Just a bruise."

"Good. Let's go. I want to be there when your dad gives them their little present."

Kairi helped Selphie down the street toward the Dinchts', making sure that she didn't drop her own little wrapped gift. Selphie had helped Kairi save up the money for this little present ever since Mr. Dincht had passed on, and they hoped that Zell would like it. The community had gotten together and donated a lot of money for a consolation gift for Ma Dincht, and it would be presented by Selphie's father in the name of the entire island. It was a real testament to how close the families were. Even Jecht had pitched in. None of the younger generation had been told what the community had bought for the Dinchts, not wanting to take the risk of spoiling the surprise.

Kairi, however, was slightly miffed by this decision by their parents. "I'm not a kid anymore," she had said, fuming. "They should be able to trust me." Selphie had agreed completely, secretly sharing the same feelings about herself and every one of the kids around the island. Kairi tended to get a little self-absorbed when she got riled up.

By now, Kairi had totally forgotten about that, however, having devised the plan to get a gift for the Dinchts on their own. The smile on her face as she spotted Zell on his front lawn proved that fact to Selphie.

The girls made their way to Zell's mailbox and began to panic. He wasn't supposed to see the gift yet! Zell had heard his name called by his mother behind him, so had turned away from the girls to shout something to her.

"Here, quick!" Selphie cried. Kairi shoved the gift at her friend, who hastily placed it inside the Dinchts' mailbox. She had barely closed the mailbox by the time Zell found his eyes on his friends again.

"Hey, guys, what brings you two here?" Zell asked. He met them halfway down the driveway, his eyes bright and lively.

"Just, uh, decided to come by and see if things are going okay," Kairi said, her cheeks burning. That had been close!

Zell shrugged, but the smile on his face didn't fade. "Things are pretty good, actually."

"Great," Selphie squeaked with a laugh.

"Ma told me that we're expecting company today, though," Zell said, folding his hands behind his head and tapping one foot on the ground. "I wonder what's going on. She won't tell me anything."

Selphie raised an eyebrow and looked over at Kairi. They didn't know anything about that. All they'd heard was about the present. Was there something planned other than that?

"Any idea what's going on?" Zell asked.

Kairi shook her head, an honest response. Neither of them had a clue.

"Oh well," Zell said with a shrug. He let his hands drop to his sides. "I'm gonna head back inside. You guys wanna come in?" he asked.

"Sure," Selphie said with a grin. Zell nodded with a smile and headed towards the front porch. Selphie motioned toward the mailbox, and Kairi headed back towards it to retrieve their present.

In a few minutes, their present was hidden underneath a blanket strewn about on the living room floor inside the Dinchts' house as the girls made themselves comfortable on the couch. Ma was, of course, in the kitchen, as always. That woman always seemed to be cooking _something_. Zell had vanished down the hall, presumably in his bedroom for one reason or another. That didn't last, however, as the blonde soon joined the girls in the living room.

"So why did you guys _really_ come over?" Zell asked, suspicion dripping from his voice and his narrowed eyes.

"Well," Selphie said, embarrassedly kicking the package underneath the blanket. Zell's eyes noticed this, and an eyebrow raised into the air.

"Okay, what's that?" he asked, pointing.

Kairi uncovered the present and handed it to their friend. He looked at it, confused, its blue wrapping and pink ribbon neatly wrapped, like a professional had done it. "Selphie and I got together and got you this," Kairi said.

Zell just stared for a few moments at the gift before he tore it open without prejudice. A ripped box later, the martial artist was staring with a huge grin on his face at a beautiful pair of blue leather gloves. They were truly beautiful: fingerless, hidden seams, an opening on the back to allow ventilation, and steel studs as decorations along the sides. The knuckles were also covered in these studs, offering a painful-looking bridge of metal across the top of the gloves.

"They're awesome, you guys!" Zell cried. He leapt up and gave both of the girls a hug at once. Soon they were all laughing and pushing each other around on the couch when Ma Dincht appeared from the kitchen in her oven mitts.

"Glad to see you're feeling better, dear," Ma Dincht said kindly.

"Aw, Ma, I'm fine," Zell said with a diminished laugh.

"Was something the matter before?" Selphie asked.

"Zell's been depressed ever since the barbeque," Ma replied.

"Any particular reason?" Kairi asked Zell with an honest look in her eyes.

Zell tugged at the hem of his vest nervously. He didn't say anything at first, then finally, "Eh, not really."

Selphie gave Kairi a suspicious look, which her friend returned. Neither of them believed the blonde, but neither said anything. It was best not to bring up bad memories.

"Why don't you kids go to the mall?" Ma asked politely. "I'm sure that seeing people may help Zelly with his bad mood."

"I'm fine, Ma, I told ya!" Zell protested, but Ma held up her hand and had a "don't question my authority" look on her face. Zell sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Fine."

Selphie's eyes sparkled as an idea flashed through her mind. "Sure thing, Ma, we'll take good care of 'Zelly.'" She snickered at Zell's glare.

"I guess we'll be heading out then," Kairi said, standing to her feet. "You driving, Zell?"

Zell shrugged helplessly, which the girls took as a yes. They yanked him to his feet and the three of them headed out the front door with a hearty "goodbye" to Ma Dincht. Once they were outside, Zell gave them both glares.

"What the hell, man?" he burst.

"Don't worry about it," Selphie said with a giggle. "What is on the way to the mall?"

"The dock," Kairi said, not realizing what Selphie was up to. Then it dawned on her and she grinned. "And where there's a dock," she began.

"There are boats!" Selphie said with a leap into the air. She was grinning from ear to ear. "The island will do you some good, Zell. Just leave it to us! We'll cheer you up!"

Zell sighed and shook his head. He kept telling them that he felt fine, but they wouldn't believe him! It was really frustrating.

Zell drove the three of them down to the dock, where they boarded their little boats and paddled over to the island, just like usual. As they stepped out onto the wooden dock along the beach of the island, Selphie stretched and gave an oversized yawn.

"It's been a while," Selphie said while finishing her yawn.

"Yeah, we haven't been here in about a week or so," Kairi said thoughtfully. "We're normally out here every other day or so." She looked over at Selphie, who was already crouched on the beach, poking the shell of a hermit crab. "Withdrawals?"

Selphie giggled, not looking at Kairi, continuing to poke the shell.

"Come with me," Kairi said to Zell, grabbing his hand. "I want to show you something I doubt you've seen."

"Okay?" Zell was confused. Why were they being like this? It was like they saw him as this blue, depressed blob that must be helped. He felt fine – why couldn't they just let him alone?

Kairi led Zell by the hand around to the other side of the island, where the obstacle course used to stand. The zip line was gone, however, replaced by a Han glider post that the kids used to use when they were about fifteen. It hadn't been used in a while, though, as was evident by the wood rot at the top of the post. If it was being used by anyone, the kids would have kept it in good condition. Instead, its neglect was evident, and becoming worse every week.

Kairi tugged Zell over to the beach, near the grove of coconut trees, where the only well-kept remainder of their childhood sat beached silently on the sand: the raft. That raft had been Riku's dream vessel, but the day had never come for the children to use it. It was going to be Kairi, Sora, and Riku, just the three of them, out in the farthest reaches of the ocean. Riku had hoped that they would reach other worlds, other lands, but Kairi knew full well that they would never leave the island. Sora, on the other hand, had strange dreams, involving a massive key that he swung like a sword. Kairi, too, had strange dreams, but they seemed like they were supposed to belong to Sora. She dreamt that she was Sora, fighting strange creatures. Riku, however, did not dream at all about such things; he merely dreamed about leaving the island and finding new lands.

Unfortunately, and like Kairi had anticipated, the raft had sat on the beach after completion, and very soon became neglected by both of the boys. Kairi didn't want their childhood dreams to fade, however, so she had Riku and Wakka drag the boat onto the beach and she continued to take care of it, even to this day. Selphie would help her from time to time, knowing how important it was to her, but Kairi did most of the maintenance on the raft herself.

"What do you think?" Kairi asked Zell after explaining what the strange raft on the beach was.

"It's awesome," Zell replied with a smile. It was a strained, forced smile. His eyes were sad. It was always depressing to hear that children's dreams didn't become reality. He looked over at Kairi and asked, "Do you think there really were other worlds out there?"

Kairi looked up at the bright blue sky and sighed. "I don't know. Those dreams were so weird. So lifelike. It's hard to believe that these little islands are all that is out there. Who knows?" She looked back down at the embodiment of her childhood dreams. "I sure don't. And won't, probably."

Zell rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. It was always a bad thing to bring up bad memories.

"But that's okay," Kairi said cheerfully. "I like it here. Although, I don't know where I came from. I don't remember. I'm not originally from Destiny Island, you know."

"You're not?" Zell asked, surprised. "When did you move here?"

"Back when I was five or so. I do remember that we traveled a lot before we found this place, though," Kairi replied thoughtfully. "I do remember my grandma, though, underneath a big staircase next to beautiful stain glass. I just don't remember anything else."

Zell leaned back and let himself fall onto the soft, warm sand. He lay there for a moment, sighed, and said, "I'm not from Destiny Island, either. I'm from a place called Balamb. It's way the hell out to sea from here."

"Is it still part of this world?" Kairi asked, suddenly interested. Zell had never mentioned his hometown before.

"Kind of? I mean, I don't know for sure." Zell's voice was uncertain, as if he was sharing information that he shouldn't have been. "It's a port town, like Destiny Island, but there's more than just an island – it's on the edge of a rather large continent called Balamb, named after the city. It's the continent's only real town." Zell paused for a moment in consideration. Then he continued, "I guess it was kind of barren, come to think of it."

"Were there many people there?" Kairi asked, sitting down next to the blonde.

"Not really," Zell said with a shrug. He brought his hands up and placed them behind his head and crossed his ankles, truly relaxing on the sand. The sun was behind them, enabling him to stare clearly into the sky without worrying about hurting his eyes. "There was one person I really miss from there, though."

"Who was it?"

"Well, two people, actually. One was a real asshole. He called me Chickenwuss and picked on me every chance he got. The other was his exact opposite. He was quiet and caring. He was my last boyfriend."

"What was his name?" Kairi asked quietly, looking down at Zell's face, which was so vacantly staring into the blue oblivion overhead.

"His name was Squall. He wasn't from Balamb, originally, but he moved there a few years ago. He changed his name to Leon, then left not quite a month before I did. I miss him a lot," Zell said with a sigh.

"Sorry," Kairi said, looking out to sea. "It's not my business."

"Don't worry," Zell said with a chuckle. He sat up and shook the sand out of his hair. "We knew that it wouldn't work out, especially with Seifer around."

"Who?"

"Seifer. The other guy I told you about. He and Squall were more of an item than Squall and me were. Weird thing is, though, was that no matter how much he made fun of me, Seifer was the hottest piece of ass in town. He knew it, too. We, uh, had a few experiments before Squall moved to Balamb." His cheeks blushed and Kairi stifled a giggle.

The two of them sat there after that in total silence, just staring out at the edge of the world, as far as they could see, taking in the sunlight. They were two of a kind: left on a friendly island with no way to go home. Kairi didn't even remember her home, and Zell knew that there was nothing for him there. They both sighed at the same time with these realizations, stopped, looked at each other, and began to laugh. It felt good to laugh like that, Zell realized, especially after all the stuff that he'd been through the past few weeks.

"So," Kairi said after they finished their gigglefest, "what's going on with you and Wakka?"

Zell's smile evaporated. "Nothing," he said almost gutturally. The abruptness of the answer surprised Kairi, but he shook his head. After a moment, he said, "Sorry. It's a touchy subject."

"Have you talked to him since _that time_?" Kairi asked.

Zell shook his head. "I've told myself that I couldn't be with him after what I did to his relationship with Tidus."

Kairi fell backwards onto the beach and sighed. "You wanna know what I think? I think that you guys are taking this way too seriously."

"You may not think that after a few days," Zell muttered.

"What?" Kairi asked, turning her ear out of the sand to hear the blonde better.

"Nothing," Zell said quickly. "Just muttering to myself. Maybe I should talk to Wakka. Would that make you feel better?"

Kairi sat up and brushed the backside of her head and batted the sand out of her ear. "The question is, Zell, would it make you feel better?"

Zell considered that for a moment. Kairi continued to get sand off and out of her head as he thought. Finally, his answer came:

"Actually, I think it would."

"Good," Kairi said, standing up and brushing off her skirt. "Let's go. It's starting to get late."

Zell nodded his agreement. Kairi offered her hand to help him stand up, which he graciously took. Pulling him to his feet, Kairi grinned as he cried out. His entire backside was plastered with sand. It accented his butt very nicely, Kairi had said, but Zell hadn't found the comment very funny.

The two of them headed around the island and found Selphie, who was busy poking a jellyfish who had washed on shore with a stick. Kairi scolded her for torturing the poor creature, and proceeded to take the stick and throw the thing back into the ocean.

The three of them headed back to the dock, where they encountered Riku and Sora heading for the island. Kairi gave them both hugs and told them to be careful, fully aware that they wouldn't understand what she meant. She had said it with several meanings in mind. She was laughing as the two of them pulled out of the dock and headed for the island. Zell and Selphie, confused, herded the hysterical Kairi into Zell's car and they headed out, back to Zell's house.

-

Chappu finished his chores by noon that same day, wanting to head out and get some things done around town. By the time he was finished with everything he wanted to do, he felt the stress of doing things you didn't want to do. With a stretch, his headed down to the docks and found himself heading out to the island. A short boat ride later, the young redhead was burying himself in the warm sand on the island's deserted beaches.

After a few minutes of sitting there, his legs immersed in soft sand, Chappu thought he heard footsteps behind him. He turned at the waist, trying not to mess up his artistically hidden legs, and saw a young blonde man with no shirt and sopping wet swimming trunks walking up the beach towards him.

"Did you swim here or what?" Chappu asked Tidus as he approached the submerged redhead.

"Nah, but I did take a lap around the island after I got here," Tidus said with a grin. "I parked the boat on the other side of the island."

So that was why Chappu hadn't seen Tidus' boat. Made sense. "So you just came out here for a quick swim or somethin'?" Chappu asked, his legs still hidden.

"Matter of fact, yeah," Tidus said with a laugh. "The water's pretty warm today. It was nice." He plucked at his soaked swimming trunks and Chappu noticed how tightly they were clinging to his front. The redhead felt his face grow hot and felt some of the sand down south become tighter around his hidden body.

Chappu averted his eyes and traced a circle in the sand with his right index finger. "You always were a pretty good swimmer," he said lamely. Despite the fact that he wasn't even looking at Tidus, the image of Tidus' trunks was ingrained into the redhead's mind. His face grew even redder.

Tidus bent down next to Chappu and laughed. "Better than you, maybe. Your brother's always been a faster swimmer than me." He put a wet hand on Chappu's shoulder and small beads of air-cooled ocean water fell down the redhead's back, sending chills up and down his spine. "So, uh, why the high-riser?" Tidus asked playfully.

Confused, Chappu looked up at Tidus, who was grinning as if he was witnessing the funniest thing ever, and Chappu followed his gaze, immediately blushing. His manhood was tenting out, broken free of the sand prison, so that it was the only thing visible on the beach. It would have been pretty funny to Chappu, if it wasn't happening to him. The redhead bent forward and crossed his legs, destroying the sand trap encasing his lower body. His face was redder than his hair.

Tidus laughed out loud and patted Chappu on the shoulder. "Dude, that's fine, I don't care."

"But I do," Chappu replied fiercely, anger taking over embarrassment.

Tidus just laughed again. Chappu's mind was reeling, but he was fuming at the same time. How could he laugh like that!

Chappu rose to his feet, his erection subsided out of anger, and looked over at Tidus, who was still chuckling. "It's not funny!" Chappu cried.

"Yeah, I know it's embarrassing," Tidus said, wiping his eyes with the backside of one of his hands. "But you have to admit, Chappu, it was pretty funny." He stood up himself and Chappu saw that Tidus was tenting. The whole situation must have aroused him.

"Look who the big man is now," Chappu said with a grin.

Tidus laughed. "Yeah, but the difference is that I don't care. In fact," he said, stepping in close to Chappu, "I kinda like it like this." Chappu could feel Tidus' tent against his leg, and that sent a jolt down to his own equipment. Within seconds, both men were standing chest-to-chest with raging hard-ons.

Chappu could have swallowed his tongue. Tidus was…no way! Chappu looked down just for verification, which only proved his disbelief to be false: both men were, indeed, completely rigid, their erections rubbing against each other and sending waves of sensual energy through both their bodies. Chappu's face began as beet red, but the embarrassment subsided and the cold sweat emerged as Tidus took Chappu's head, turned his face towards his own, and leaned in.

_Don't panic_! was all that Chappu could think as Tidus' lips brushed his own. They were so strong, but soft, like angel feathers. Unbreakable, but divine in their sensitive touch. Chappu felt his mouth opening on its own, his subconscious beginning to take over. Tidus' tongue slipped into Chappu's mouth and tickled the roof of the redhead's palette. This sent tingles up Chappu's face and around to the base of his neck. He'd never felt anything like _that_ before!

Chappu began to fight back. His tongue pushed against Tidus' until the two were wrestling for space. Just then, Chappu felt a hand grab his round ass and squeeze tightly, but not tight enough to hurt. It felt really good. Another wandering hand had found the back of Chappu's head and was running its fingers through his bright orange hair. Chappu's hands, on the other hand, were roaming as well, feeling every curve and muscular bulge on Tidus' well-defined body. The redhead felt his hand brush Tidus' ass and he hesitated. High, round, tight…Tidus had the perfect butt. Chappu stroked it with one finger up and down one side and he felt Tidus react through a quiver in his tongue.

The two continued their embrace for what seemed to Chappu like forever. Before long they had fallen into the soft sand, Chappu on his back with Tidus breathing his hot breath all over the redhead's neck. Chappu moaned as Tidus licked his neck up and down, the redhead's hands still rummaging the blonde's backside.

Tidus on the other hand, was noticing things he definitely liked as he caressed the redhead's body. Wakka was built like a god, but Chappu carried the heavy artillery in the family. Tidus pulled away from Chappu and smiled down at him. "You're my kind of man."

Chappu gazed up at the blue oceans swimming just inches above his face. Tidus' eyes were dazzling, and his smile was perfect. Chappu had never met a more beautiful man in his life. But Tidus' comment had struck a chord with the redhead. "What do you mean?" he asked.

The answer came in a tight grip on Chappu's manhood, issuing a slight gasp to escape his lips. Tidus grinned down at him. "That's what I mean."

Tidus' face disappeared from Chappu's sight. Curious, the redhead lifted his head to look down his frame. Tidus was at his waist, sliding his fingers into the lining of his swimsuit. Within seconds, Chappu's only clothing was flying through the air and landing elsewhere on the beach. With hard-on stiff in the wind, Chappu felt totally, completely free.

"Don't tell anyone I said this," Tidus said slyly, "but you're bigger than your brother."

Chappu felt a flood of laughter coming on. Finally, something he could gloat to his brother about! He would have dwelled on this thought longer, but an amazing sensation overwhelmed his entire being, interrupting his train of thought.

Tidus moved his head up and down on Chappu's member, slowly at first, his tongue wrapping its way halfway around its girth, sliding it along Chappu's length as his head moved. The heat and moisture of Tidus' mouth was enough to drive Chappu crazy, let alone the tingling that his tongue and lips were sending through the redhead's entire being.

"Tidus…What…Ohhh…" Chappu seemed completely unable to complete a single coherent thought as long as Tidus was working his magic.

Tidus didn't seem to care.

The rhythm picked up the pace – Tidus was moving faster, his tongue turning to lashing the ridge underneath the head. This sent sharp spikes of ecstasy through Chappu and he felt something deep inside him begin to work. He knew what was going to happen next.

Tidus continued to move at a quickening pace. He felt Chappu's manhood expand even further as blood continued to fill its already engorged muscle. Tidus chuckled inside his own head and withdrew completely, an exaggerated popping noise marking the total release of Chappu.

"N-No, Tidus…" Chappu groaned. He started whimpering. Tidus had almost let him go, backing away at just the right moment. The blood was stuck – Chappu's member was as ready as it was going to get. All it needed…

Chappu's hand moved towards his abdomen, but Tidus' strong grip stopped it. "No you don't," Tidus scolded playfully. "That's my job, remember?"

Tidus leaned forward and gave the raging member in front of him a gentle kiss on its tip. Chappu moaned even louder as Tidus' tongue began to tickle the head, tracing a circle around its tip and running along its length. Finally he took Chappu into his mouth, tracing its veings with his tongue.

Tidus was surprised that Chappu was so easily aroused. With gear as large as his, Tidus had expected Chappu to take some doing to get him ready. Evidently he had been mistaken.

Chappu felt the strange sensation from within his body again. His legs started quivering involuntarily and his chest tightened. His upper body rose off the sand against his will as Tidus relentlessly went up and down on his member. Not once did the blonde get more than half of Chappu's length into his mouth, but the half that had been engulfed had never experienced _anything_ like it was now. Chappu felt every muscle in his body tighten. His member stood as rigid as it could. Sensation flooded his system. He felt the adrenaline flood him, starting in his head. His entire body was enraptured. He wished it would never end.

Tidus felt the pulsing begin and pulled back. He moved out of the way to see Chappu shoot high into the air. With a grin, Tidus watched Chappu release again and again, unaided. _And that's how you do it_, Tidus told himself with a smile.

That night, Tidus arrived at Chappu's house. Despite his apprehension of seeing Wakka, the blonde knew that he wouldn't be able to get over the breakup if he didn't move on. And this time, moving on meant moving on to bigger and better things.

Tidus could do nothing but smile.

-

Again, I apologize for my sporadic updating schedules. I hate having something interrupted, and it's hard to get back on the wagon to finish it sometimes.

Whee! RnR:D


	9. Admission

Lalilaaaa…

Disclaimer: They ain't mine.

.oOo.

Twilight Gaze

Chapter 9: Admission

.oOo.

The sun was especially bright the next morning, waking Tidus as it shone into his room. Without realizing it, Tidus rolled over the edge of the bed, collapsing in a heap on the floor of his room. With a start, he grunted and sat straight up.

Tidus stood up and stretched. The sunlight was bright in the room, so his eyes were squinted shut. He turned around, away from the window, staring at the wall that his bed was set up against. Opening his eyes a little wider, Tidus looked down and saw another figure lying in his bed. It was as if he'd just drunk sixteen cups of coffee. The blonde's eyes were wide open and adrenaline had flooded his system.

Lying in Tidus' bed was the figure of Chappu.

Tidus' heart was racing. Why? What…

Chappu stirred and groaned, smacking in sleepy euphoria. The mere sight of it sent chills down Tidus' spine. Chappu was very cute. As Chappu turned, his rolled onto his back and Tidus noticed that the sheets near the center of his body were straining. At that time, something else became apparent, as well, reminding Tidus of what else Chappu had to offer. Tidus' face burned as the thoughts of yesterday flashed through his mind, and his grin spread.

A knock at the door shot adrenaline through Tidus' system. He quickly slipped his side of his bed to a neat position and lay himself in Chappu's bed, across the room. "Who is it?" Tidus asked in a fake-sleepy voice.

"Naomi." Naomi was Chappu's cousin. Evidently some of Wakka's extended family was in town.

"Hold on," Tidus called back. He got out of Chappu's bed and slipped on some shorts before nudging Chappu. He made his way to the door and peeked out.

Naomi stood on the other side of the door in a tank top and shorts, her left hand fiddling with her long, straight red hair. "It's eleven in the morning, Tidus. Get up. And get Chappu up, too." She turned away from Tidus and headed down the hallway, muttering something about "crazy teenagers." Tidus snorted, as Naomi was a year younger than Chappu.

Tidus closed the bedroom door and moved over to his bed, where Chappu lie sleeping. He sat down and put his hand on Chappu's shoulder, slowly stroking the redhead's shoulder. "Hey. Chappu. Wake up."

Chappu grumbled and shifted a little, turning onto his other side. Tidus smacked him in the shoulder and Chappu jolted up onto his elbows, his eyes half-opened. He looked around in a daze before looking up at Tidus and blinking. A smile crept onto the redhead's face. "Morning," he said groggily.

"Get up," Tidus repeated. "Naomi and her folks are here, for whatever reason."

Chappu moaned and buried his head into the pillow. He didn't have the greatest of histories with Naomi.

"C'mon, Chappu, get up," Tidus growled. He pushed on Chappu's side and rolled the redhead up against the wall. "Get up or last night will never happen again." Tidus grinned in his threat.

Chappu sat up and gave Tidus a worried look on his face. "You wouldn't!" he cried.

Tidus jerked his hand up to his mouth. "Shh!" he whispered harshly. "Do you want Wakka to hear you?"

Chappu's eyes widened. "What?" He was silent for the longest time, staring straight into Tidus' eyes.

Tidus suddenly realized what Chappu was worried about. A look of sympathy spread across the blonde's face as he hugged Chappu close to him. Stroking the red hair before him, Tidus whispered. "It's okay, Chappu. Wakka and I aren't together anymore, remember?"

Chappu was silent. Tidus lifted his face to look him in the eyes, but Chappu's eyes were averted. Tidus' brow furrowed and Chappu turned away from the blonde. Tidus rose from the bed in silence and made his way to the dresser to put on a shirt. Chappu slowly climbed out of Tidus' bed, wrapping the bed sheet around his waist before making his own way to his side of the room and finding some clothes to slip into.

Neither of them spoke as they dressed and headed out into the living room. Naomi and her mother Tahula were sitting on the couch with Chappu's mother Neliku. Tidus roamed into the kitchen as Chappu found a spot in a nearby armchair. An uncomfortable silence between the two of them seemed to permeate the room, despite the heated discussion Tahula and Neliku were having about shopping. Naomi stared at Chappu, bored.

A knock on the front door came as a blessing to Chappu, who leapt up from his spot in the living room to charge for the door. He opened it and immediately wished that he hadn't.

Kairi stood standing on the front porch, a single daisy in her clutched hands in front of her chest. Her eyes were puffy and her face was tear streaked, but a smile was on her face. Chappu felt his face grow red as he backed away from the door.

_That_ was someone he'd forgotten about in the past twenty-four hours…

Kairi's smile disappeared and her eyes saddened as Chappu wordlessly stepped away from the door. "Chappu?" she called quietly. "Are you going to invite me inside?"

Beet red in the face, Chappu shook his head and stepped outside, closing the door quickly behind him. The two of them stood alone on the front porch, although half the neighborhood could see them.

"Chappu? What's wrong?" Kairi asked in a whisper. Tears were already welling up in her eyes.

Adrenaline began to force its way through Chappu's system. "It's nothing you need to worry about," Chappu said, an obviously fake smile spread across his face. _Yet_, he added silently to himself.

Kairi smiled weakly. "Chappu, I have a favor to ask you."

Intriguing. "What?" Chappu asked, feeling the adrenaline filtering out of his system.

"Can you…" Kairi faltered. She was nervous, Chappu could tell. Something was very obviously bugging her.

Chappu put a hand on Kairi's shoulder and looked her in the eye. "It's okay, Kairi. Ask me anything."

Kairi almost burst out in tears, but somehow restrained herself. "Tell me you love me again."

Chappu blinked in astonishment. She wanted _what_? "Kairi, what's wrong?" he asked.

"It's like you aren't you lately," Kairi muttered, tears finally coming to fall down her cheeks. "You haven't told me that you love me in weeks, Chappu. Nothing's wrong with me. What's wrong with you?"

Words escaped the redheaded teenager at that point. He opened his mouth to say something, but something stopped the words halfway up his throat. It was rather uncomfortable. But what could he do? Did he want to lie to her? If he told her the truth, then there would be no stopping Wakka from finding out.

A flash of blonde appeared in Chappu's mind. Tidus had been holding him, telling him that he and Wakka were no longer together. Well that may have made it all right for Tidus, but Chappu frankly did not want to suffer the wrath of his irate brother for stealing his boyfriend. And now Kairi comes along, a catalyst to the entire equation.

_What should I say_? Chappu stood there a moment, his mouth hanging open slightly, as Kairi waited for a response of any kind. Any kind at all would have been better than just standing there in total silence.

Chappu hung his head. "I can't say it, Kairi," he whispered.

Utter terror spread across Kairi's face. The tears stopped completely. Her mouth was hanging open now, astonishment dancing through her being. Chappu was afraid to look her straight in the face.

There was silence for a moment before Kairi finally whispered, "There's someone else, isn't there?"

Chappu didn't say anything at first, but eventually he gave a very minute nod. Very minute it may have been, but it was affirmative. Kairi's fears had been realized.

"Who is it, Chappu?" Kairi asked quietly.

This time Chappu didn't say anything at all. No body gestures or general movement at all. If Kairi hadn't known better, she would have believed him to have died standing up. He had frozen up completely.

Just then the front door opened, revealing Tidus' sparkling blue eyes and blonde hair. "Hey, Kai," he said with a grin. Chappu's heart stopped. He felt as if he couldn't breathe. What if Tidus told her? He was so fine with their little fling last night, whereas Chappu couldn't stop thinking about how angry Wakka would be if he found out.

Kairi looked at Tidus and the blonde let out a gasp. "Kairi, what happened to you?" he cried. "Come inside! Sit down. Let me get you something to drink." He reached out and grasped Kairi by the wrist, but she jerked her arm out of his grip.

"Thanks, Tidus, but no thanks," she said quietly. "I'm not really in the mood for tea and cakes. Not today." With that, she turned and headed off the porch. She stalked across the front lawn and burst into tears the moment she hit the pavement of the street. Turning towards her house, Kairi broke into a tear-soaked run.

Chappu could hear her sobs until she entered her house one street over.

"Rough morning?" Tidus asked Chappu in reference to Kairi. Chappu just shook his head.

"Close the door," Chappu whispered. Confused, Tidus did so.

"What's up?" Tidus asked.

The redhead rounded on Tidus and growled in his face. "You seriously don't see anything wrong with this little _thing_ we have going?" he cried. "You and Wakka can't possibly be over each other yet, and now Kairi is broken-hearted because you and I –"

The door launched itself open and Chappu choked on the last few words of his sentence as Wakka appeared in the doorway. The man wore a thin-strapped tank top that clung to his muscular torso and wind pants that did nothing to hide his built legs. The eldest of the three raised an eyebrow. "What are ya doin' on the doorstep?" he asked.

Tidus and Chappu both ripped their eyes away from Wakka's chest at the same time before stumbling back off the porch so that Wakka could pass by them. Wakka gave each of them a look of suspicion as he walked by, but not another word was said between them until Wakka was safely out of earshot.

Tidus closed in on Chappu. "Excuse me for acting on my feelings. Wakka and I _are_ through, thank you very much. How would you know if we were still pining for each other, anyway? And as for Kairi, you knew that it was only a matter of time before she found out that you weren't interested in her anymore. That was completely your fault, not mine."

Chappu felt his face burning as he opened his mouth to reply. "And what about you? You forced this on me without taking into consideration my feelings for Kairi and my brother. I didn't want to hurt either of them! And now one's sobbing in her bedroom and the other is giving us looks that the government gives international spies."

Anger was welling up inside of Tidus to the point of visibly shaking. "I didn't _force_ you into anything, Chappu. You could have said no. You could have pushed me away. Did you? No. Why not, Chappu? Why the _fuck_ didn't you say no, if you were so worried about Kairi and Wakka?"

Something conveniently found itself lodged in Chappu's throat, making it impossible for him to speak. He tried and tried again, but always to no avail – the words he had in mind just wouldn't vocalize.

Tidus shook his head in disgust. "I don't know what I saw in you to stab me like this, Chappu."

Stabbing. How appropriate. Chappu felt a pang of guilt run straight through his heart as if he had been stabbed. Someone twisted the blade inside of him as Tidus turned and walked away, shaking his head. Chappu didn't follow the blonde. Instead, he turned back to face his home and entered through the front door, doomed to be bored into oblivion with his cousin.

That evening, Tidus sat on Duelist Island, his legs hanging over the edge, his bare feet reflecting in the calmed ocean waters. He loved the sea at night. The stars in the sky were reflected perfectly in the ocean's waves, making it look and feel like he was surrounded entirely by stars. It was as if the island itself was floating through space with no definite destination. Tidus loved the freedom that such a thought instilled inside of him.

Footsteps behind Tidus made him turn away from the beautiful sight before him. He saw Riku walking up to him, silver hair waving in the wind. "Hey," Tidus called, leaning back and looking again into the starry sky.

Riku sat down next to the blonde, mimicking his stance and gaze. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.

Tidus nodded in response. There was a somewhat unpleasant silence, followed by the blonde's discontent. "Did someone tell you to come to me?" he asked Riku.

Riku chuckled. "Kind of. But part of it was my own keen instinct. Something's up, isn't it?"

The silence of the twinkling stars was nothing compared to the silence coming from Tidus. The two sat there for what seemed like eternity, simply gazing up into the twinkling night sky.

"You can tell me, you know," Riku told the blonde, finally taking his eyes off the stars above to look Tidus in the face.

Tidus sighed. That was true. Riku had been able to keep a secret better than anyone on the island, save perhaps Kairi. "I know."

"So what's the deal?" Riku asked. "You, Wakka, Chappu, and Zell have all been acting weird lately."

Tidus sighed again. "Well, you know that Wakka and I are finished. The whole island knows that by now."

Riku shook his head. "That's not entirely true. I had to tell Sora. Man, was he shocked." The silver-haired teen laughed and Tidus found himself blushing. Riku looked back at Tidus and smiled knowingly. "But trust me, Tidus, it's not as bad as you think."

Tidus rolled his eyes as Riku continued to stare him down. "That's not even the point. Now I've put Chappu into a little situation."

Riku didn't laugh at all, but a smirk appeared on his youthful face. "You and Chappu?"

Riku's answer was a single nod.

Riku leaned back onto his elbows and directed his view back up into the sky. "Hoo-boy. That is a bit of a situation, isn't it?"

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Riku was the next to speak:

"So what is he afraid of? Wakka?"

Tidus cringed, his eyes shutting tight. "He's afraid that Wakka and I aren't actually over. And he doesn't want to give up on Kairi, either."

"He hasn't told her that he loves her in weeks," Riku mentioned. "I think she already knows something's wrong."

"I caught them out in front of the house today," Tidus admitted. "Chappu seemed really angry." Tears were beginning to well up in Tidus' eyes. "We weren't far from swapping blows."

"Does Wakka know yet?"

"No."

"Are you planning on telling him?"

"I don't know yet."

"He'll find out eventually. We both know that, and so does Chappu. That's probably why he's so afraid."

Silence.

Riku sat up and rose to his feet. Brushing off his jeans, he turned away from Tidus. "Just remember that you are the one who makes every decision in your life. I should know," he added dryly. Tidus raised an eyebrow in confusion, but Riku didn't say anything else about it. Instead, the silver-haired boy started walking away, leaving Tidus alone in the star-lit sea of black that seemed to encompass the entire island.

- - -

_Knock_.

A single knock resounded through Tidus' ears as his knuckles wrapped on Wakka's bedroom door. The blonde was already in a cold sweat. He heard the doorknob turn on the other side of the door and adrenaline flooded his system.

Wakka opened the door, his bulky frame filling the doorway completely. His bedhead was splayed out in every direction, and Tidus couldn't help but smile upon seeing it. The sleepy look on Wakka's face made him look less than intelligent, but Tidus knew otherwise. The redhead raised an eyebrow and Tidus realized that he'd been staring.

"Oh, sorry," Tidus said lamely, scratching his head in embarrassment. "Can we talk?"

"Can't it wait, man?" Wakka asked, glancing at a clock that read eight in the morning.

Tidus shifted nervously. "No, Wakka, it can't wait."

Wakka sighed and allowed Tidus into his room, closing the door behind him. Tidus was too nervous to even take in the sights of Wakka's bedroom. The mere click of the door being set into the doorframe made the blonde jump.

Crossing his arms across his naked torso, Wakka leaned against the door and peered at Tidus. "So? What's this about?"

Without even facing the redhead, Tidus stared down at the floor. It seemed to take hours for him to mutter a simple, "I'm sorry."

Wakka raised an eyebrow. "Eh?"

Tidus still refused to turn towards Wakka. "I'm sorry, Wakka. Ever since Zell showed up…"

Wakka rolled his eyes. "Not this," he muttered. The blitzer leaned forward, allowing his bodyweight to roll forward onto the balls of his feet so that he was no longer in contact with the door. Wakka walked up behind Tidus and put a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Look, brudda, we've been through this, haven't we? It's not your fault and it's not my fault. We just need a little time apart, ya?"

Tidus turned his head away from Wakka as the bigger teen tried to move into his line of sight. He really didn't want to look at Wakka when he said this…

"Sorry, Wakka. I'm…" Adrenaline. Why the hell did there have to be adrenaline?

Wakka stood back, realizing that there was something else. "You're what?"

A tear formed at the corner of Tidus' eye. Why was this so hard for him? Wasn't _he_ the one who had been so angry when Wakka was caught with Zell? That thought crossed the blonde's mind and his tear choked back. All's fair in love and war, as they say.

"Tidus?"

"Chappu and I are together," Tidus shouted, not caring who heard through the door or the open window.

Despite his nervousness of telling Wakka, Tidus had not been prepared for the redhead's reaction. Silence permeated every inch of the room as Wakka merely stared at the blonde in total and utter shock. Not horrified shock, like Tidus had expected, but Wakka merely seemed surprised.

"How long has this been going on?" Wakka asked quietly.

"Since two days ago," Tidus admitted sheepishly. A blush came to his face as he remembered what had happened on the island.

Wakka never said anything, but he slowly rounded his way to stand behind Tidus. Tidus stood there, facing the far wall of Wakka's room. He heard the door open and close, issuing a silence to set in. Tidus had been left in Wakka's room, completely alone, and without a word.

The world suddenly seemed so very dark…

.oOo.

Holy shnaps, it took me forever to write this chapter. I'm really sorry. Read and review if you're into kinkiness like that!


End file.
